Biography
One of the first global celebrities, Charles Dickens not only wrote some of the most beloved novels in modern history, including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and David Copperfield, he also influenced how we speak and how we celebrate Christmas. So, if you’ve ever wished anyone ‘Merry Christmas!’, you can thank Charles Dickens! Born in 1812 to a respectable working class family, Charles Dickens enjoyed an idyllic childhood in Kent, reading voraciously and even attending private school, before his life changed forever when he was 12. His father, arrested for debt, was sent to the workhouse, and Charles was forced to leave school and work 10-hour days in a boot-blacking factory to provide for both himself and his family. This early experience of poverty, shocking labour conditions and lack of help for the poorest in society would greatly influence his future novels.
Charles was able to return to school after about a year, and upon turning 16, went to work as a junior clerk in a law office, then as a freelance reporter. It was his journalism that led to his first published novel, Sketches By Boz, in 1836. Published anonymously, this collection of 56 short pieces offer a poignant snapshot of everyday life in Victorian London. His next collection of episodic stories, published alongside friend and engraver Phiz, were so popular they were gathered together and published as The Pickwick Papers in 1837.
One of Dickens’ most famous novels, Oliver Twist, was published in 1838. Exploring the harsh realities of life for the most vulnerable in society, Dickens’ portrayal of child labour, abuse and workshouse starvation was largely influenced by his own experiences as a child. Later novels, especially David Copperfield, would also be inspired by the deprivations of his early life.
In 1843, already a successful author, Dickens wrote the novella A Christmas Carol, re-popularised the ancient festival of Christmas (which had been declining in popularity since the time of Cromwell) and forever shaping what we think of as a traditional Christmas.
From the coming-of-age saga of Great Expectations to the comedy of Nicholas Nickleby and the gothic drama of Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens leaves behind an incomparable legacy of some of the finest literature ever written.
