Charles Dickens

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Charles Dickens is seen by most people as the greatest author of his time. Growing up in a dysfunctional family Dickens was able to make his way in the world and use his gifts to entertain and benefit all men. During his lifetime Dickens wrote over 15 novels and countless short stories. Each of these writings portrays aspects of humanity and give the readers a better understanding of what it means to live in this world and to be human. This essay will cover important parts of Dickens life, his writing style, and a few of his most prominent works.

Charles Dickens lived from 1812-1870, which is right in the middle of the Victorian period, and he is known as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. He was born in the city of Lampart in England. His father was an officer in the navy and although the navy paid his father fairly well, Charles' father was not wise with his money and often the family was short on money. In 1814 the Dickens family moved to Chatham where Charles was able to study for some time under William Giles, who paid special attention to Charles because he was such a fast learner. When Charles was only 12 he was forced to quit school and work in a factory because hi father was sent to a debtor's prison. John Dickens was kept in prison until he was able to bail himself out with his inheritance from his mother, who died while he was in prison.

Eventually Charles was able to return to school and he studied under various teachers until 1827 when he took up a job as a clerk. He soon quit his job as a clerk and after working as a shorthand reporter for a short time he began to write for several small papers. When he was 18 Dickens received a reader's ticket from the British Museum which allowed him to read the works of Shakespeare and other authors.

Writing for newspapers papers gained Dickens a small following and he was able to enjoy his financial success with "a new hat and a very handsome blue cloak with velvet facings." Dickens continued to gain popularity and in 1833 he had his first fiction work published. "A Dinner at Poplar Walk" was well accepted by the public and Dickens was very pleased with how well it was received. From this point on Dickens began to work on fictional stories, and while he was writing he followed a very strict regimented routine.

He would rise at a certain time and go to bed at another set time. These hours rarely varied and he did not have many parties or other engagements to break his routine. His writing time was in-between breakfast and lunch and there were no distractions that could pull him from his writing. "His mind was essentially methodical, and in his long walks, in his recreations, in his labor, he was governed by rules laid down for himself, rules well studied beforehand, and rarely departed from," said one of Charles' close friends.

Dickens's did not have a very beautiful love life. He courted Maria Beadnell who was the daughter of a banker for four years but this relationship ended badly. Three years, later, in 1836 Charles married the daughter of the editor of one of the papers he was writing for. Once they were married Catherine's younger sister Mary came to live with them, Charles was very fond of Mary and he was devastated when she died only a year after coming to live with them at the young age of 17. Together Charles and Catherine had 10 children but for some reason their marriage did not work out and in 1858 they were divorced. Another of Catherine's sisters, Georgiana, ended up moving in with Dickens and eventually he fell in love with her but he was also in a relationship with actress Ellen Ternan who he had met in the late 1850s. When looking over the love life of Charles Dickens it is clear that he had a lot of passion and feeling, but divorcing his wife and falling in love with her sister shows that he was very messed up. Often it seems that people who have a genius ability and great success in one area of life, in this case writing, have many troubles and trials in a different area of their life. Dickens died on June 8, 1870previously to his death he had undertaken extensive lecture tours of the United Statesand Great Britans, and many people believe that it was the stress and exertion of these tours on his older body that killed him.

Written by John Severin,
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Serial Novel Has the Dickens Touch

Cathy Macleod, 2 February 2009: DURING the Christmas and New Year buying period, ebook enthusiasts downloaded a serial hailed as “the best since Dickens”.

Run Maggie Run, a digital title, now wears its publisher’s audacious boast with optimism, because worldwide reception was impressive..

Featuring a compellingly original heroine, the serial coincided with rivalry between several electronic reading devices that were competing for a place in festive stockings. In this ongoing marketing skirmish, content is a vital ingredient, and Maggie’s spicy adventures are available in all, or most, of the appliances.

The serial joins bestselling novels that are now in digital format. It could eventually outsell them if a trend favouring short texts continues. The  Scots-Australian author, John Ivor, holds star rating for historical fiction from Darling Newspaper Press    

Ivor’s digital serial, following successful hardbacks and paperbacks, blends thrills, humour and outrageous characters.

“That is why we liken it to Charles Dickens,” said publishing executive Charles Bryce in Perth, Australia. “It is also interesting to recall that the Victorian novelist used serial form to popularise his novels.

“We’re offering serial chapters because we have found that ebooks (electronic books) are particularly suited to short-span scrutiny, say text up to 6000 words. People are still coming to terms with reading on a screen even if it is hand-held. Our short-stories sell well in digital format, mostly mystery and romance. We offer lengthy ebook novels too, but these tend to lag compared to our traditional hardback and paperback sales.

“Thanks to the Internet, the essay has also made a comeback, although nowadays people call them blogs.”

Run Maggie Run begins with a heroine aged 9 sentenced to hang for murder in the 1830s. Her odyssey to womanhood begins in Scotland and culminates in The Great Southland, as Australia was then known. In the waif Maggie, author John Ivor has created an intriguing original character. She is self-taught from books, and takes this incomplete wisdom into her decisions. To look at, she’s a mess, with dye-stained face and rodlike legs, yet her eyes hold the magic of youth.

The serial is one of the goodies nudging readers towards ebooks. These can be read on any computer screen, or on most hand-held designs. There are several appliances on sale, such as Iliad (British), Cybook (French), Sony (Japanese), Bebook (Dutch), and others. All have small individual differences.

At www.mobipocket.com a free digital reader is offered for easy download.  

Internet retailers heavily into ebooks, and simple to access and search, include Mobipocket, Cyber Read, Ebook Crescent, Books on Board, and many more that can be found via Google.

About the Author

Cathy Macleod is an independent literary critic at www.booktaste.com

how many of Charles Dickens books are still in circulation, or for purchuseing?

I would like to know how many books I can purchase that Charles Dickens wrote. Or how many are still in circulation.

All of his novels and collections are in print, so you can buy:

The Pickwick Papers
^ The Adventures of Oliver Twist
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
The Old Curiosity Shop
Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riot of '80
The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
Dombey and Son
* David Copperfield
Bleak House
Hard Times: For These Times
* Little Dorrit
* A Tale of Two Cities
* Great Expectations
* Our Mutual Friend
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
and the Christmas books, which are:
* A Christmas Carol
The Chimes
The Cricket on the Hearth
The Battle of Life
The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain

I am particularly fond of those I have starred.

Appeal to save chalet where Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations
An appeal has been launched to raise £100,000 to save the chalet in which Charles Dickens wrote many of his famous works, including Great Expectations.

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