Charles Dickens: Biography, Books, Novels, Movie

Charles Dickens is, without a doubt, one of the greatest writers in history. He is even regarded as a fantastic Victorian novelist. Two of Dickens' works include Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. People began to like his work to the point where they created the term "Dickensian" to describe his creative process. The question now is: Why is Charles Dickens still respected, and how did his writing improve to the point where it now motivates us and will continue to motivate future generations? To discover the solution, let's examine Charles Dickens' life biography.

Early Years

In Portsmouth, Charles Dickens was born on February 7th, 1812. Elizabeth Dickens was his mother, while John Dickens was his father. The family originated in England. Eight children—two of them passed away at extremely early ages—belonged to Charles's parents. Catherine Dickens was Charles Dickens' wife, and they produced ten kids together. Playing and reading books were two of Charles Dickens' favorite pastimes. Charles's father worked at the Navy Pay Office as a clerk. He was responsible for keeping the money safe and distributing the paychecks to the appropriate sailors. Charles lived throughout England due to his father's line of work. He cherished reading as many books as he could find as a child and playing outside.

John Dickens was an extremely driven and ambitious individual who constantly aimed to advance in his position at work. They eventually relocated to London, where Charles's father was able to fund his expensive education.

Education of Charles Dickens

Charles heard about the plays presented at nearby theatres while he was in London. The actor inspired him at the theatre, and on occasion, out of excitement, he would hop upon a table at a nearby tavern to sing and dance, because he wanted to be an actor, he and his siblings performed in plays.

Charles's father was a confident individual. He disagreed with the notion that people should always reside where they were born. He believed that success and fortune could be attained with ease via hard work, proper dedication, and efforts toward a goal. He taught his entire family this lesson.

Charles went out with his father one day. His father indicated a home known as Gads Hill Place while he was walking. He assured Charles that if he put in a lot of effort, he too could one day buy a home similar to that. John Dickens was an outstanding parent who worked hard, but he nevertheless made a mistake typical of middle-class families. He had so many children and a wife to support, even this wasn't improper. Before he could succeed, he wasted money.

The father of Charles Dickens experienced severe financial hardship. Even they encountered a circumstance in which Charles, then 12 years old, was forced to drop out of private school and begin working at a blacking polish factory. He put in 11 hours a day for a salary of only 6 shillings (3.98 INR at Present). Even though this was child labor, it was permitted at the time.

Although Charles' job was tedious, he was fortunate to have discovered it. His father was incarcerated for failing to repay a loan, thus, landing the job was fortunate. The only way to free Charles's father was to repay the 40 pounds and 3 shillings he had borrowed. Father Charles was prohibited from working or earning money. Therefore, he could not be released because doing so would require the entire Dickens family to enter prison due to a lack of housing.

Charles Dickens was the only one with a job; he was just twelve. He booked a large enough room for himself. Every Sunday, Charles would visit his family and make every effort to assist them, but the poor youngster was limited in what he could accomplish. Charles' diminutive frame bore the burden of rescuing his family.

At one point, John Dickens encountered the same issue. After a year of living like Charles, John Dickens could only return to school. But John Dickens received money from his mother, which enabled him to pay off their debt. Charles Dickens was profoundly impacted by this situation for the remainder of his life.

Charles Dickens recognized that some families were extremely fortunate because they could inherit wealth or have other means of timely family preservation. Additionally, he understood that even excellent families with wonderful individuals could experience hardship.

Charles started working as a junior clerk for an attorney in 1827 when he was 18 years old. He began studying shorthand writing. Charles observed the customers who came in to receive legal counsel while at work. He created tales based on those individuals and how they looked.

Charles was a funny kid who always found humor in the worst circumstances. He used to laugh at the complaints of others occasionally. Unaware that this was the start of his writing career, he discovered that by adding humor, he could write about challenging subjects.

Charles Dickens was chosen for a Covent Garden play audition when he was 20. Charles tried to pursue his passion for being an actor as he grew older and obtained more expertise. Unfortunately, his severe cold prevented him from going to the audition. He was never given another opportunity.

Charles quit his position as a clerk to work as a journalist for Morning Chronicle. He worked in the media but had a continued interest in law. Charles sat through judicial proceedings to gather all the material from the House of Commons and reported it to the media director. There, he first encountered Catherine Hogarth, the daughter of his editor. After three months, Charles finally asked her to marry him, and the two were wed in 1836.

A New Chapter in the Life of Charles Dickens

Dickens learned that the mansion he had imagined owning as a child was up for sale when he was 44. He paid £1,790 for it. After purchasing it, he decided that renting it out would be a smart move. However, he fell in love with the house and understood why he had been working so hard up until that point. His home felt like a haven away from the big city. It was around this time that Charles began to experience a small problem.

Although Charles Dickens was at the height of his success, he was unhappy with his wife Catherine and spent time entertaining guests at his house, Gad's Hill Place. Divorce was illegal at the time. Not in the sense of being outlawed, but it was a practice that no one should discuss or engage in, particularly any public figure. He acted like everything was going according to plan since he was aware that he was at the pinnacle of his profession and that one poor choice might ruin his entire reputation.

Dickens was throwing parties, and at one of them, he invited the actors from the neighborhood theatre and several of his famous friends, including the author Hans Christian Anderson. To protect their reputation, they began an affair covertly and kept it a secret. He ran across a fresh-faced, 18-year-old actress named Ellen Ternan. When that happened, Charles was 45.

Charles and Catherine began living separately in 1858 after splitting up. Despite no longer living together, their marriage had to be maintained legally. By establishing that his wife had a mental illness, Charles attempted to get a divorce. He nearly wrote his wife 98 letters outlining his problems. After being found in 2014 and being put up for auction, these letters sparked a discussion among academics.

Some contend that Dickens misled readers about his wife's mental state. To effortlessly be with Ellen Ternan, he only desired a divorce. Others claim that because Charles cared about Catherine, he wanted to take her to an asylum even if she was ill.

Dickens kept up his covert friendship with Ellen. So that he could pay her visits frequently, he bought her a property outside of London. While secretly dating for approximately thirteen years, they had a child together, but he passed away. Following that, they would never have another.

Sadly, a horrible event occurred on June 9th, 1865. Traveling by train together were Charles and Ellen. Staplehurst was in view as the train approached, but the conductor was unaware that work was being done on the lines. Although the conductor applied the brakes, it was already too late. Only one first-class compartment remained on track, and even that one was dangling over the edge as all the other first-class compartments fell into the river below. There was sufficient hold in the second-class compartments to maintain their course. Charles Dickens was sitting in that compartment.

To assist the people, Charles dove into the river. He would hold anyone clutching to something if he came across them. Charles tried to help some people, but some even passed away in his arms. Ten people died in that disaster, and many more suffered life-threatening injuries. The manuscript of Charles' most recent novel, Our Mutual Friend, which was still inside the railway car, unexpectedly came to him as he assisted people in getting out of the water. Before the container overflowed its edges, he risked his life by entering to retrieve his manuscript. For the rest of his life, Charles Dickens shied away from rail travel because it made him uneasy.

Even Ellen Ternan's friendship with Charles Dickens was depicted in the 2012 biographical film The Invisible Woman. Since Ellen burned nearly all of their correspondence, no one knew about their covert relationship for years. Historians began gathering facts and putting them all together to draw a conclusion.

Legacy and Death

After the event involving the train, Charles Dickens experienced severe health problems. He was offered the chance to give a speaking tour in America in 1876, for which he would receive 20.000 pounds (about $1,000,000 today) after expenses. Even though he still had travel anxiety, he could not say "no" when offered such sizable money.

Everyone realized Charles' health was failing, though, once he returned from America. He suffered a stroke that caused him to pass away at Gads Hill Place in 1870. He was 58 years old and had hope for a prolonged lifespan. Dickens never made any compromises in his writing. On the day he passed away, he was still at work. He was engaged in the writing of a murder mystery novel titled Edwin Drood. Unfortunately, the book wasn't finished, and because of this, admirers continued to discuss it and speculate about its potential conclusion for years. Charles Dickens had a net worth of 93,000 pounds, or around $4 million, at the time of his death.

He specified in his will that he wanted a very quiet, private funeral at Rochester. Fans pushed him to pay homage to his work, so even this became a contentious issue. Eventually, Charles's relatives agreed to let him be buried in Westminster Abbey. Numerous people gathered to offer their respects after this announcement.

Charles isn't here with us right now, but the legacy he left behind will endure forever. In classrooms all across the world, his writings are still studied and respected. Oliver's creations are used in several films and have even inspired songs. Every December, families worldwide read A Christmas Carol to reenergize their thoughts. There is no appropriate adjective to describe a man who accomplished so much.

He once stated, "In all that I have attempted in life, I have endeavored wholeheartedly to do it well; in all that I have given myself to, I have devoted myself totally; in all that I have sought for, whether vast and small, I have always been thoroughly earnest."