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Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens. Contexts for Hard Times. Charles Dickens: Life. Born February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth. 1824. Father enters debtors’ prison and Dickens goes to work at a blacking factory. 1829. Works as a shorthand reporter writing up legal speeches. Life, continued.

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Charles Dickens

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  1. Charles Dickens Contexts for Hard Times

  2. Charles Dickens: Life • Born February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth. • 1824. Father enters debtors’ prison and Dickens goes to work at a blacking factory. • 1829. Works as a shorthand reporter writing up legal speeches.

  3. Life, continued • 1836. Marries Catherine Hogarth; the couple have 10 children. • 1842. Visits North America. • 1856. Buys Gad’s Hill Place, a mansion he had dreamed of as a boy. • 1858. Separates from Catherine; continues giving public readings and acting in plays. • 1867-68. Readings tour of North America. • 1870. Dies at Gad’s Hill June 9 of a cerebral hemorrhage.

  4. Selected Works • 1836-37. Pickwick Papers • Adventures of Oliver Twist, 1837-39 • Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, 1838-39 • The Old Curiosity Shop, 1840-41 • A Christmas Carol, 1843 • David Copperfield (1849-50) • Bleak House (1852-53) • Hard Times: For These Times (1854) • Little Dorrit(1855-57) • A Tale of Two Cities (1859) • Great Expectations (1860-61) • Our Mutual Friend (1865)

  5. Serial Publication • Dickens edited as well as publishing his work in serial publications. • Bentley’s Miscellany • Master Humphrey’s Clock • Household Words • All the Year Round

  6. Hard Times • Serialized weekly in Household Words, April 1-August 12, 1854. • At the same time, he was giving public readings, editing the journal, traveling with his family to Boulogne.

  7. Serial and Novel Publication • The “triple decker” novel was the typical format; most novels were published in three volumes. • Lending libraries, to which patrons subscribed, could then lend out Volume 1 to one patron, Volume 2 to another, and so on. • For serial publication, however, authors had to ensure that readers would remember plots and characters.

  8. Keeping readers interested • What techniques do you see in Hard Times for keeping readers interested in the plot and characters? • Character names? • Catch phrases or character traits? • Broad themes that include opposing ideas? • Cliffhanger endings to sections? • Mysterious characters? (Mrs. Pegler) • Multiple stories?

  9. Exercise (Write a brief paragraph on one of these.) • Identify one theme or pattern of images that is important in this novel. 2. Write a brief character sketch (no more than a paragraph) that shows how Dickens made the character memorable. What are his or her traits? Physical appearance? Manner of speech? Clothing? Habits?

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