Charles Dikenson Biography

Charles Dickens Biography

Charles Dickens was one of the most popular writers of all time. Dickens was very observant of life, and had a great understanding of humanity.

Charles John Huffam Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, on February 7, 1812. When he was two years old he and his family moved to London. Dickens father, John Dickens, was a poor clerk who worked for the navy, and he also spent time in prison for debt. When John was not in prison he lacked the money to adequately support his family. When Charles was twelve he worked in a London factory. That job was so miserable that the misery of the experience stayed with him his whole life. Dickens became a newspaper reporter in the late 1820's. He specialized in covering debates in Parliament and also wrote feature articles. This helped him develop his skill portraying his character's speech realistically. His first book was "Sketches by Boz" in 1836; it consisted of articles he wrote for monthly magazine. The book that got him famous was "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. This book describes the adventures and misadventures of a group of people in an English countryside. Dickens founded and edited two highly successful magazines. Those magazines were "Household Words" and "All Year Round". Dickens was always in the news, and was honored, and recognized everywhere he went. In 1836 Dickens married Catherine Hogarth. Catherine had a sister named Mary, who died in 1837. Dickens grieved so much over her death that some people believe that he loved her more then he loved Catherine. Catherine was a good wife but she wasn't a very intelligent woman. She an Dickens had ten children, and separated in 1858. Dickens had a vast amount of physical and mental energy. He had so much energy that he could record all of his activities and make it interesting to read. Dickens had a life other than writing. He spent much of his free time with his friends from the worlds of art and literature. He also enjoyed drama. He went to the theater as often as he could. When he was rich and famous, he produced and acted in amateur theatrical productions. Dickens