Literature Study: Charles Dickens

I've been wanting to make a deep dive study on the life of Charles Dickens for some time now and after recently completing two of his novels, I felt that time had come. I have long regarded Dickens as one of the greatest authors of all time, and included 7 of his novels in my list of 100 Greatest Works of Literature (more than any other author). To many English he is considered their 2nd greatest author behind only the great playwright Shakespeare. His vast collection of novels and iconic characters have become a great pride of English culture and literature. 

For me the recent inspiration into Victorian England hit a high this fall as I played the game Assassin's Creed Syndicate. At that point I decided to embark on the monster novel, David Copperfield which is said to be a semi-autobiography of Dickens' life. I then recently zipped thru the popular Christmas Carol, a short story that has been adapted more than any other novel. The work of Charles Dicken is the total embodiment of this industrial age in history. His many novels and short stories depict the industrial life of the working class during this period in history and reflect the life that he lived. He created so many memorable characters and included illustrations in his books that made his work all the more popular. 

I remember as a kid being familiar with the work and name of Charles Dickens, with fond memories of A Christmas Carol and the iconic characters of Scrooge, Cratchit, and Tiny Tim. I also remember watching an adaptation of his novel Oliver Twist. I can never forget that iconic scene where the young Oliver asks for a 2nd helping of soup. From these two stories alone I began to understand British culture thanks to these two settings. I remember in my college years becoming familiar with the story of Great Expectations and even more so his historical fiction, A Tale of Two Cities. His work often captures the perspective of an orphan, industrial laborer, rags-to-riches story, seeking solitude in the harsh climate of Industrial England. This common theme in Dicken's writings is what I seek to further understand by studying the biography of his life. 

The Life of Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 in the coastal city of Portsmouth to a middle class family. He was the 2nd of 8 children, his father was a clerk in the navy. As a young child Charles took a great liking to reading and some of his favorite books included Robinson Crusoe, Gil Blas, and the Arabian Nights. In 1822 however Charles life took a unique turn, when his dad was arrested for owing debt, and he and his family were relocated to the prison house of Marshalsea in London. Het met many memorable characters during this time, that would later go on to inspire many of his famous novels. 

At the age of 12 Charles was forced to work 10 hour days to help support his mother and family. He worked at a shoe polish factory basically placing labels on tin cans. These harsh working conditions, especially for children, would influence many of his novels as well as his involvement in social activism for child labor laws. After his father returned from prison, Charles finished his labor years and was enrolled in the boarding school Wellington House Academy in Camden Town. The headmaster there was extremely cruel and made for another terrible experience for the young Charles. After school he worked briefly as a junior clerk in a law office. All these experiences of his youth are fictionally portrayed in his auto-biographical work of David Copperfield. 

By the age of 20, having experienced a very unique and challenging childhood Charles Dickens was a very confident and ambitious young man. He first set his eyes on a career in theater acting, yet after various failed opportunities he shifted his interest to writing. By 1833 he began submitting his first writings to the London Monthly Magazine and later find work as a journalist. During this time Charles also established a solid network of other writers and influential public figures in London. This exposure and support helped him publish his first major novel, The Pickwick Papers in 1836. He later became the editor of the magazine Bentley's Miscellany for three years. During this time he wrote his 2nd novel and one of his most famous works of Oliver Twist, which was published in 1838.

Charles married Catherine Thomas Hogarth in 1836 and together they had ten children throughout their 20 marriage. They were however later separated in 1858 most likely due to Charles' various love affairs. Nonetheless Charles continued to rise to prominence as an author and by the 1840s his two most popular works of Oliver Twist and the Pickwick Papers were read by Queen Victoria herself. In 1842 had an inspirital visit to the United States, spoke out against slavery, and was inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe and Washington Irving. This visit helped inspire him to write a series of Christmas stories, including his most famous work of A Christmas Carol published in 1842. This popular book  reinvigorated the festive season of Christmas. 

In the mid 1840s David continued to travel more and lived in Italy, Switzerland, and France for some time. He was very fond of French culture and befriended famous Parisian writers of the time including Alexander Dumas and Victor Hugo. During this phase of his career his work began to demonstrate more dramatic themes in his publications of Dombey and Son as well as his famous semi auto-biography of David Copperfield that was published in 1850. In 1851 her returned to live in London and published the famous novels of Bleak House, Hard Times, and Little Dorrit. He also became the managing editor of various journals including All the Year Round. 

In the late 1850s he began to have marital problems with his wife Catherine and engaged in various affairs including one with the 18 year old actress Ellen Ternan. Following his divorce from his wife in 1858 he went on various reading tours throughout the United Kingdom and finished his famous novels of A Tale of Two Cities in 1859 and Great Expectations in 1861. In his final years he survived the Staplehurt Rail Crash of 1865 and made a 2nd visit to America in 1867 meeting with the famed authors Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. As his health began to deteriorate in 1868 he gave a series of farwell readings across the United Kingdom. In 1870 he died of a stroke at the young age of 58.   

The Works of Charles Dickens

• The Pickwick Papers (1837) 
• This was Dicken's first novel that brought him instant fame as an acclaimed author. It is a satirical novel of a gentlemen's club in London known as the Pickwick club. Their founder Samuel Pickwick encourages the other three members to go on unusual adventures outside of London and share them with the club. The story recounts each of their comedic tales as they journey throughout the countryside of England. 
• Oliver Twist (1839)
  
• Dicken's second novel that cemented his arrival as England's most popular author. This is one of many orphan based novels that Dicken's wrote demonstrating his common theme of rags-to-riches story. Oliver Twist is an orphan living thru the harsh conditions of industrial London, and later joins a gang of pickpockets, led by the iconic hobo Fagan and his skilled pickpocket the Artful Dodger. He later is adopted by a well-to-do family and lives a much better life than in the streets of London. This is one of Dicken's most adapted story next to A Christmas Carol, and have fond memories of watching the 1968 musical Oliver!
• Nicholas Nickelby (1839)
• One that I am not so familiar with, however it follows the common Copperfield format of a young working child. Just like with David Copperfield, Nicholas experiences various hardships throughout his youth including the death of his father. He must then work to support his mother and sister. He experiences many adventures and meets many unique characters throughout the story. 
• A Christmas Carol (1843)
• This is Dicken's most well known story and also one of his shortest. It tells the Christmas tale of Ebenezer Scrooge who is known as a cruel man who detests the Christmas season. He is however visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve that make him aware of his terrible attitude. The next morning on Christmas Day, Scrooge sets out to fix his wicked ways and gives money to charity, rewards his employee Bob Cratchitt, and visits his nephew. This novel completely reinvigorated the holiday Christmas season. 
• Dombey and Son (1848)
  
• The book is a homage to the coastal life Hickens experienced in his youth and pertains to the relationship between a father, daughter, and son. The father Paul Dombey is the owner of a prosperous shipyard and hopes his son will take over the family business. His son is however very weak and sick, and instead Mr. Dombey must turn to his daughter to become his heir. The relationship with his daughter is a complicated one, but eventually they find peace before Mr. Dombey dies. 
• David Copperfield (1850)
• This is considered one of Charles Dicken's masterpieces, and also his most personal as the story is considered a semi auto-biography of his life. It once again pertains to a young child enduring hardships in the city of London and the many unique characters he meets along the way. Throughout his struggles, David eventually finds love and happiness multiple times thanks to his unending positive attitude. The story reflects the child hardships that the young Charles Dickens went thru when his father was arrested, also the cruel boarding school he went to, his brief stint as a law clerk, and finally his true passion for writing. 
• Bleak House (1853)
  
• This novel is a satirical comedy of a legal case known as the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. The story is yet again narrated from the perspective of an orphan, her name being Esther Summerson. She works as the governess for the wealthy Jarndyce who are undergoing a legal inheritance dispute. The book was so popular during the Victorian Age, that it later led to a legal reform in the 1870s to how judicial court matters were conducted.  
• Hard Times (1854)
• One of Dicken's shortest novels it was written to demonstrate the cruel harsh working conditions of industrial England. It is set in a fictitious town of Coketown that is quite reminiscent of industrial Manchester. Mr. Gradgrind is a cold business man, a fierce advocate of Utilitarianism, he is driven by efficiency and profitability and gives no mind to imagination. He comes to odds with his children however for their youthful desire for romance, creativity, and individuality. 
• Little Dorritt (1857)
  
• This story is set in the Marshalsea prison and no doubt a reference to the time Charles Dickens spent there as a child when his father was arrested by creditors. It demonstrates the harsh conditions of the prison, and criticizes the governments' Treasury and industrial working conditions. Amy Dorritt is the sweet daughter of Mr. William, who after 30 years has become considered the father of the Marshalsea Prison. Amy works as a seamstress and befriends Arthur Clenman who later helps free the family from prison. Years later Arthur becomes a wealthy debtor and after discovering that he was adopted chooses to marry the poor Amy Dorritt.     
• A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
• Regarded as Dicken's greatest historical fiction, it is set during the French Revolution and demonstrates a more dramatic and serious tone. The book is broken up into 3 parts and just like Victor Hugo's Les Miserables it also spans many years. The first book consists of an English doctor reunited with his daughter Lucie after 18 years of imprisonment in the Bastille. Years later Lucie falls for a French aristocrat named Charles Darney and marries him and the two relocate to Paris. However Paris is in the midst of the Reign of Terror and Charles is charged for his wealthy injustice. He is however saved from the guillotine by a depressed lawyer named Sydney Carton, who also loves Lucie. Sydney bears a very similar resemblance to Charles and is able to fool the guards and trade his life to free Charles so the woman he loves can be happy. This is an extremely tragic ending, yet also equally poetic and romantic and part of the reason it is considered among Dicken's greatest works.  
• Great Expectations (1861)
  
• Yet another classic from Charles Dickens that pertains to the setting of an orphan rags-to-riches story. As a young child, Pip encounters a convict and decides to help him before he is captured by the police. Years later Pip becomes a labor worker and falls for the wealthy Estella yet does not have the means to marry her. He is however taken on by a benefactor and trained to become a gentlemen and later woos Estella for a brief period. This is until he discovers his benefactor was the criminal he helped and Pip fears he is in trouble for accepting his financial funds. Pip decides to escape England, leave Estella, and finds work in Egypt as a merchant. Years later he reunites with Estella and the two appear to commit to their lost love. 
• Our Mutual Friend (1865)
• Dicken's last novel often considered his most sophisticated and complex. It demonstrates the perils of wealth, when a poor clerk takes on the identity of a deceased wealthy nobleman. The inheritance in question is that of a profitable dust heap business, by which Dickens demonstrates the irony of wealth thru waste. The story is full of subplots and symbolism which is why it is often considered one of Dicken's most complex works.