27 MAY 2024 · Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. His father, John Dickens, was a naval clerk who often lived beyond his means. When Charles was 11, his father was imprisoned for debt so Charles was forced to leave school and began working ten-hour days at Warren's Blacking Warehouse to help support his family. This pivotal experience left Dickens with a lifelong sympathy for the poor. After his father received an inheritance and was released from prison, Charles was able attend school again. He became a court reporter thanks to his shorthand skills but he aspired to be a writer. His first published story 'A Dinner at Poplar Walk' appeared in the Monthly Magazine in 1833. A year later he began sharing a friendship with Walter Savage Landor, one of the most prominent English writers of the time. This accelerated his development as a novelist. In 1836, Dickens published his first novel 'The Pickwick Papers' in serialized installments which became an immediate success. This led to him writing 'Oliver Twist' (1838) and 'Nicholas Nickleby' (1839) in similar formats. They too became massive best-sellers in Victorian England. Around this time Charles married Catherine Hogarth and began editing 'Bentley's Miscellany' where he serialized his next novels: 'The Old Curiosity Shop' (1841) and 'Barnaby Rudge' (1841). He and Catherine eventually had ten children together, living in London and holidaying in Broadstairs. His family life heavily influenced themes in his stories over the years. In 1842, Dickens traveled with his wife to America for the first time where they met with equal enthusiasm but were treated as curiosities and he became disillusioned with the new land. He wrote his critical 'American Notes' the following year based on his observations there. To avoid an expected backlash, he returned to writing novels starting with 'Martin Chuzzlewit' (1844) then promptly moved his family to Italy for a year before returning to write his legendary 'A Christmas Carol' holiday story in 1843. It met with instant financial and critical success which allowed Dickens to finally slow down a bit. He would continue revising 'A Christmas Carol' each year through 1867 adding new scenes and dialogue from his readings around London. Dickens' lowered pace of living during 1845 allowed him time to reflect upon deeper social issues which began emerging in his next masterpieces 'Dombey and Son' about ambition and 'David Copperfield' (1850) concerning perseverance. Then Household Words, the enormously popular weekly journal which Dickens created and edited, began serializing what would be his most autobiographical novel 'Bleak House' in 1853 where he reflects upon the bureaucratic failures of Chancery law which had ensnared his youth during his father's exile to prison. About this time, Dickens befriended philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts and became involved with reforming social institutes including Urania Cottage for homeless women. As Dickens’ fame grew internationally, his marriage was crumbling internally culminating in an ugly public separation from Catherine in 1858. This added an air of disillusion to his later works. So he expressed his sorrows by embarking upon an ambitious series of public readings from his most beloved passages of prose and verse. His dramatic performances became immensely popular withsell out crowds up to 2,000 people which took a great physical toll through 1863. Travelling to America once again reinvigorated his spirits enough to commence writing his penultimate novel 'Our Mutual Friend' (1865) which analyzes wealth and society with satire. Dickens sank into another Frank Capraesque depression following the bloody train accident at Staplehurst. He tended the dead and dying before rescuers arrived. This revealed the futility of Victorian life causing Dickens slip a manuscript he had written into his own coffin upon his deaths as a final treatise regarding meaning of life for his readers. While mourning the violence, Dickens rallied his creative faculties towards completing 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' intended to be his first whodunit that was quite advanced for its time. Unfortunately Dickens died suddenly of a stroke in 1870 leaving 'Edwin Drood' unfinished. A lifetime of difficult child labor left Dickens extremely physically active and restless throughout his life. He loved touring across Britain's countryside and hiking 20 miles per day until finally succumbing to obesity and gout later on. Dickens despised idleness and forbade his children from being idle too. He expected similar levels of activity in his two daughters who he had taught to sing, dance and swim quite well. Dickens also enjoyed acting and performing charades at his many lively parties in addition to playing the flute. He was also an amateur magician and mesmerist. For most of the 1850s, Dickens performed magic in front friends in his large conservatory at Tavistock House before it was torn down in 1860. Throughout his writing career, Dickens edited many journals which serialized novels and short stories, including household words. He used them to promote social causes like sanitation reform, education expansion for children and voting rights from the 1840s into the 1860s. Dickens was a champion for liberal social policies who also supported free trade and aristocratic self governance with his closest ally Lord John Russell, who served twice as Queen Victoria's Prime Minister. Through Lord Russell, Dickens also advocated for social reforms in India under English rule to improve education and prohibit immoral child labor, using his fame as leverage against British imperialistic policies when necessary.