2. List of his works:
A Christmas Carol
Pickwick Papers
Nicholas Nickelby
Oliver Twist
Great Expectations
A Tale of Two Cities
David Copperfield
Hard Times
Our Mutual Friend
Martin Chuzzlewit
3. Background information:
Born February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth,
England
Second child of John & Elizabeth Dickens
At age of 10, (1822) the family moves to
London. London was a large city even then
(approx. 1.8 million) and was the political
capitol of Great Britain.
The time period that Dickens lived most of
his life was known as the Victorian Age
(1837-1901). It was named after Queen
Victoria who became queen at just 14 years
of age and remained ruler for 64 years.
4. Debt:
In 1824, Dickens’ father was sent to debtor’s
prison.
Charles, age 12, leaves school to work at
Warren’s Blacking Factory, a rat infested,
unheated factory.
When Dickens and his family went to visit his
father, they saw the poor conditions for the
prison and Charles became very angry at the
establishment. There was no way his father
could pay off his debts while he was in
prison.
5. A few years later, the Dickens family
inherited money and John Dickens
was able to pay his debts and get out
of prison. This allowed Charles
Dickens to stop working at the
factory.
6. Dickens held several jobs before he
became a published author.
Age 15- a clerk in a small legal office.
Age 17- becomes a court reporter.
(reports what happened during a
court session.
Age 21- Begins to submit stories and
essays to magazines and newspapers.
Age 22- Works as a government
reporter/ newspaper reporter
7. 1836 was a great year for Dickens
His first book Sketches by Boz, a
collection of essays and stories is
published. He used Boz as his pen
name.
He writes and publishes The Pickwick
Papers, which was his first literary
success and helps him become the
most popular writer in all of England.
8. He becomes the editor of a monthly
magazine called Bentley’s Miscellany
and uses his position to serialize
Oliver Twist.
Dickens marries Catharine Hogarth,
the daughter of the owner of
Bentley’s Miscellany.
9. Later years
1843- he writes A Christmas Carol in
just six weeks. Dickens uses his own
money to publish this story.
1850- Starts his own magazine called
Household Words.
1870- Dies of a stroke.
10. **Popular throughout his life, Charles
Dickens was considered a social
reformer. He tried to change things in
society that he felt were unfair, such
as the treatment of children/ child
labor and debtor’s prison. **
