Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens |
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Born | Charles John Huffam Dickens
7 February 1812
Landport, Portsmouth, England |
Died | 9 June 1870 (aged 58)
Gad's Hill Place, Higham, Kent, England |
Resting place | Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey |
Occupation | Writer |
Ethnicity | English |
Citizenship | UK |
Notable work(s) | The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol,David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations |
Spouse(s) | Catherine Thomson Hogarth |
Children | Charles Dickens, Jr., Mary Dickens, Kate Perugini, Walter Landor Dickens, Francis Dickens, Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens, Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens, Henry Fielding Dickens, Dora Annie Dickens, and Edward Dickens |
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"Dickens"redirects here. For other uses, see Dickens (disambiguation).

Charles John Huffam Dickens ( /ˈtʃɑrlz ˈdɪkɪnz/; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic who is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period and the creator of some of the world's most memorable fictional characters.[1] During his lifetime Dickens' works enjoyed unprecedentedpopularity and fame, but it was in the twentieth century that his literary genius was fully recognized by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to enjoy an enduring popularity among the general reading public.[2][3]
Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens left school to work in a factory after his father was thrown into debtors' prison. Though he had little formal education, his earlyimpoverishment drove him to succeed. He edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels and hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens rocketed to fame with the 1836 serial publication of the Pickwick Papers. Within afew years he had become an international literary celebrity, celebrated for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication.[4][5] The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience'sreaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback.[5] For example, when his wife's chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her disabilities, Dickens went on to improve the character with positive lineaments.[6] Fagin in Oliver Twist apparently mirrors the famous fence, Ikey Solomon;[7] His caricature of LeighHunt in the figure of Mr Skimpole in Bleak House was likewise toned down on advice from some of his friends, as they read episodes:[8] In the same novel, both Lawrence Boythorne and Mooney the beadle are drawn from real life – Boythorne from Walter Savage Landor) and Mooney from a certain 'Looney', a beadle at Salisbury Square.[9] Though his plots were carefully constructed, Dickens would oftenweave in elements harvested from topical events into his narratives.[10] Masses of the illiterate poor chipped in ha'pennies to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up and inspiring a new class of readers.[11]
Dickens was regarded as the 'literary colossus' of his age.[12] His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, is one of the most influential works ever written, and it remains popularand continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. His creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to G. K. Chesterton and George Orwell—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand Oscar Wilde, Henry James and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of...