Dickens’ Biography• He was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth.

• 1824 -- Dickens worked at Warren’s Blacking Warehousewhen he was just 12 years old (labeling jars of shoe polish)

• 1824 -- Mr. Dickens (Charles’ father) was taken to debtors’ prison; his family joins him after some time.

More Bio

• Charles is pulled out of private school.

• 1827 - Charles, now 15, becomes law clerk and after working even in his free time, he decides to become a freelance writer.

• 1834 - Charles takes Boz as a pseudonym .

• 1834 - Charles’ dad is re-arrested for debts.

Dickens starts Publishing!

• 1836 -- Sketches by Boz

(his first collection of pieces)

• 1837 -- The Pickwick Papers

(his first novel)

• and on a personal note...

“Here Comes the Bride…”

• 1836 (Dickens is 24) he and Catherine Hogarth get married

• and…one year later, the first “little Dickens” is born.

• and one year after that, baby 2 is born...

but, back to business!

1837-- Oliver Twist is serially published. It is Charles Dickens' second novel. It is about a boy named Oliver Twist, who escapes from a workhouse and meets a gang of pickpockets in London. The novel is one of Dickens' most well-known works, and has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations.

But what was happening in 1837??• King William IV of England dies.• Victoria becomes queen

of England. The British Empire

reached its greatest expansion under

her reign. The era is often

characterized as a long period of

peace and economic, colonial, and industrial consolidation. However, during the Industrial Revolution, the population in England grew a huge amount. This was one of the main causes for poverty. More people means less work for everybody.

And, because of the poverty, the children in families were expected to contribute to the family income. Usually children at the age of eight were already working in factories and mines. A child worked for at least ten hours a day.

And Dickens, meanwhile…• 1838 -- Nicholas Nickleby

(which is around the life and adventures of Nicholas, a young man who must take care ofhis mother and sister after the death of his father.)

• 1840 -- The Old Curiosity Shop• 1841 -- Barnaby Rudge • 1842 -- American Notes (Dickens made his first trip to America

travelling with his wife to the United States and Canada, a journey which was successful in spite of his support for the abolition of slavery)

And more Dickens’ books!

• 1843 -- A Christmas Carol (the book was written and published at a time when Britain was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten Christmastraditions, and at the time when new customs such as the Christmas tree and greeting cards were being introduced. )

• 1844 -- Martin Chuzzlewit• 1844 -- The Chimes• 1845 -- The Cricket on the Hearth• 1846 -- The Battle of Life• 1846 -- Dombey and Son

And also...

• 1850 -- David Copperfield• 1853 -- Bleak House

• 1854 -- Hard Times• 1857 -- Little Dorrit …and he

knows the actress Ellen Ternan,

he falls in love and separates

from his wife.

Ellen Ternan

His last works…

• 1859 -- A Tale of Two Cities

• 1861 -- *Great Expectations• 1865 -- Our Mutual Friend (Dickens survives a

train crash this year. After helping other people he climbs back into the carriage to rescue the manuscript of his novel Our Mutual Friend.)

• 1869 -- The Mystery of Edwin Drood (he left it unfinished)

A sad ending

• 1870 -- Dickens, who had been in declining health since 1865, died of a stroke.

• He is buried in the Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey in London

In conclusion…

• Dickens wrote 24 major novels.

• His peak of creativity and literary prowess was in his mid - late career from 1848 - 1865.

• He fathered 10 children.

• He gave numerous talks across Europe and America.

And what’s more important…• He was an advocate of child labour laws to protect

children.• He opposed cruelty, deprivation and corporal

punishment in the education of children.• He was also against the abuses of the Victorian

legal and penal systems.• He organized amateur theatricals for charitable

purposes. • He created an institution for homeless and "fallen"

women, offering them a positive alternative to the prostitution and crime.

• He attacked slavery.

Possible unknown vocabulary• label: etiquetar

• shoe polish: betum per a sabates

• debtor: deutor

• pull out: treure

• clerk: administratiu, oficinista

• freelance: independent

• bride: núvia

• workhouse: hospici

• gang: banda

• pickpockets: carterista

• reach: assolir

• poverty: pobresa

• income: ingressos

•crash: accident, xoc

•carriage: vagó

•stroke: atac de cor

•buried: enterrat

•prowess: destresa

•deprivation: privació

•theatricals: representacions teatrals

•charitable: de beneficència