Charles Dickens

Who was Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 1812,the second of eight children to John Dickens (1785-1851) and Elizabeth (née Barrow 1789-1863). His father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office and was temporarily on duty in the district. Very soon after his birth the family moved to Norfolk Street,Bloomsbury, and then, when he was four, to Chatham,Kent, where he spent his formative years until the age of 11. His early years seem to have been idyllic, though he thought himself a "very small and not-over-particularly-taken-care-of boy".

Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of Victorian period. During his life, his works enjoyed unprecedented fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widely popular.

Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens left school to work in a factory after his father was thrown into debtors' prison. Over his career he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas and hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively,was an indefatigable letter writer. Dickens sprang to fame with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwich Papers. Within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and societyd and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms. 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.The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback. 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.

Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age.His 1843 novella,A Christmas Carol is one of the most influential works ever written, and it remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. His creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from LeoTolstoi to G.K.Chesterton and George Orwell—for its relism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, andsocial criticism. On the other handOscar Wilde,Henry James and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism.