Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was a writer who lived a life as interesting as anything

he wrote about in his novels. He was born in 1812 in the Portsmouth into a

life of poverty. He later drew on his own childhood experiences for his

short stories. His father was a clerk who earned relatively little money.

In 1822 his family moved to London. Charles’ family was so poor that his

education was interrupted by need to take poorly-paid work in a factory.

Later his father got iinto debt and was imprisoned. One year later Charles

became a solicitor’s clerk so that he could earn more money. It was in 1824

that he became a newspaper reporter. His first short story was anonymously

published in 1825 without payment. One year later Dickens whose penname was

‘Boz’ began writing about England. Later in 1836 he fell in love with a

woman whose name was Catherine Hoghart. They were in love so much that they

had 10 children. Later, in 1842 he visited the USA wwhere Charles became so

well-known that everyone treated him as a celebrity. Between 1837 and 1865

many of his finest writings such as ‘Oliver Twist’ or ‘A Christmas Carol’

and many others were published in instalments or monthly parts. In 1858

Dickens separated with hhis wife after many years of marriage. Charles began

working so hard that he eventually became exhausted and fell ill. In 1870

when he was 58 Dickens died and was buried in Westminster Abbey.