Charles John Huffam Dickens

1. Charles John Huffam Dickens 1812 – 1870 The Background and Experiences of a Great Author, from a Harsh Childhood to a Wonderful Adulthood, of becoming a Famous Writer Exit

2. The Start Of A Great Author • Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. • Dickens’ parents were John and Elizabeth Dickens who had 8 children and Charles was the second to oldest child out of all of them. • After he was born, his family moved to Chatham. • Dickens described his years living there “the happiest time of his childhood.” • His parents were always free spirited and spending money on parties and balls which caused them problems later on. • Dickens’ father worked for the navy as a payroll office clerk, but the job didn’t pay enough for all of the festivities. Young Charles Dickens

3. The Start Of A Great Author • Because they had so many children and parties and balls, financial problems were always a concern for the Dickens family. • Because of their financial problems, they later had to move to a smaller house when Charles was just 4 months old. • The Dickens family was considered middle-class, but for only a short time because they hit financial problems which, in 1824, caused them to be imprisoned for debt. • To pay off the debt, Charles’ father pulled him out of school to work in a shoe-die factory. • Charles considered this experience to be, “the most terrible of his life.” • But, most of his harsh experiences influenced him to write his best novels. Charles Dickens' House =

4. The Start Of A Great Author • Charles parents also saved as much money as they could for one child to start an education at a university. • Unfortunately, Charles was not that child. His sister Fanny was. Charles’ Grade School

5. The Beginning Of A Hard Life • When Charles turned 12 years old he hit the hardest point of his life and his dreams of becoming a gentleman were looking dim. • Dickens’ father was sent to jail for failing to pay off a debt. • This loss put the family and Charles into sad times for a while. • His debt and loss of a family member is also expressed in an ironic way though the book. Pip suddenly falls into debt after spending too much (like Charles parents did) and loses a family member, Mrs. Joe. Etching of Charles Dickens’ father, John

6. A Better Looking Future • Only a short year later for us, but a sad and depressing, slow year for Dickens, Charles’ father was released from jail and times were getting better for Dickens. • Charles was also released from his, so he calls it, “horrible” job at the shoe-die factory. • Charles’ life course is very close to Pip’s life course. In the book: • At first, life was normal. • Pip dreamt of becoming a gentleman. • (Pip becomes a gentleman – Charles, on the other hand, does not.) • Pip falls into depression. • Pip gets money from benefactor and becomes happy like Charles gets his father back. • Charles’ father was released from jail because the debt was finally paid off from an inheritance of money given to the family. Charles Dickens

7. A Better Looking Future • Even though Dickens’ mother wanted him to keep working, his father disagreed and allowed him to return to school. • Even though Dickens’ mother was against Charles going back to school, she was the main person to teach him reading and writing. • Unfortunately, when Dickens turned 15, he was forced to return to work again and his education from that point ended. Sketches of Charles’ Parents • Later, he had a different variety of jobs including: • A clerk in a law firm • A shorthand reporter in the courts • …and finally parliamentary and newspaper reporter

8. The Start of His Love of Writing • In 1833, Dickens started writing short stories and essays for periodicals. • Later, he started providing writings for comics (how he got his skill in adding a little humor in his stories like Great Expectations) which, in 1836, were published as the Pickwick Papers. • With this, Dickens became, within a month, internationally popular. • After a while, Dickens resigned from making comics and writing newspaper reports to become an editor of a monthly magazine called Bentley's Miscellany. • Ironically, Dickens probably used this magazine name for Bentley Drummle in Great Expectations.

9. The Start of His Love of Writing • In 1836, Charles married Catherine Hogarth. • Together they had 10 children but only 9 survived. • Their names were: • Charles Culliford Boz Dickens • Mary Dickens • Kate Macready Dickens • Walter Landor Dickens • Francis Jeffrey Dickens • Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens • Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens • Henry Fielding Dickens • Dora Annie Dickens • Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens • They finally separated in 1858. • After, Dickens started secretly dating a young actress named Ellen Ternan. • Charles Dickens’ Wife • Catherine Dickens – • Chalk and Crayon Sketching

10. Dickens Continues To Work • Shortly after 1836, Dickens decided to continue his career as a writer and continued at a quick pace. • One of his first writings was Oliver Twist which was first put into Bentley's Miscellany in 1837. • Dickens, later on, started many writing projects, that were due on a monthly basis, but barely was able to finish all of them because there was so many to write. • This is what caused the intense pace of his career. • After, his career still continued at a fast speed where he started writing novels and other short stories in about 1850. Dickens At Work • Later on, Dickens’ stories started fading and only talked about the pains of the common man (like Great Expectations).

11. Dickens’ Horrible Death • In 1869, Dickens’ health started to decline. • On June 9, 1870, Charles Dickens died from a mild stroke. • He died after a hard days work of writing his new book Edwin Drood which, unfortunately, was never finished. • Charles Dickens was buried in Westminster Abbey. A graveyard in England where very respected people go. Dickens’ Signature

12. Works Cited "Charles Dickens Biography." The Complete Works of Charles Dickens. 2008. 15 May 2008 <http://www.dickens-literature.com/l_biography.html>. Sahlman, Rachel. "Charles Dickens." Spectrum Biographies. 2007. 15 May 2008 <http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/Dickens.html>. "The Childhood of Charles Dickens." Charles Dickens - Gad's Hill Place. 2008. 15 May 2008 <http://www.perryweb.com/Dickens/life_child.shtml>. "The Children of Charles Dickens." Charles Dickens - Gad's Hill Place. 2008. 15 May 2008 <http://www.perryweb.com/Dickens/life_children.shtml>.

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