Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
Charles Dickens was an extraordinary man. He is best known as a novelist but he was very much more than that. We see him as the author of such classics as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House and many others. All of his novels are English classics.
Dickens had an almost unbelievable level of energy. He was also the father of a large family, as well as being involved in a love affair that lasted many years. He began as a journalist, writing little pieces about daily life and developed very quickly into a best-selling novelist, avidly read throughout the English speaking world. At the same time he was appearing in plays and touring, reading from his novels.
As a child Dickens saw his father imprisoned for debt and that led him to a lifelong interest in prisons and the need for the reform of the system. Many of his novels reveal the cold hard facts of the Victorian prison system and, with so many readers, the novels had a great effect on the consciousness of the public. In addition to that Dickens campaigned and lobbied for reform.
Dickens was a man who seemed to be able to direct his efforts in several directions and give each his full attention. He spent ten years running Urania Cottage, a home for ‘fallen women.’ And organisation aimed at helping the women get back to respectable life, either in England or Australia or America. He spent his own money on the project and gave it his full attention.
Where would English culture be if there had been no Fagin, no Oliver Twist, no Ebenezer Scrooge? What graphic image would we have of a fawning, writhing, hypocritical functionary without Uriah Heep springing into our minds? And what about the pompous Mr Bumble and the cruel, cold-hearted Mr Murdstone and his iron sister, Miss Murdstone? The list of Dickens characters who have embedded themselves firmly in English culture is endless.
Dickens’ novels, which lend themselves to dramatisation for stage, television and film, are delightful to read and several are regarded as the greatest of English novels.
