Charles dickens biography for students
- •
A Timeline of Charles Dickens' Life
Born in 1812, Charles Dickens lived for 58 years, creating some of the great masterpieces of English literature, including his 1843 A Christmas Carol (whose creation is dramatized in The Man Who Invented Christmas). We map out his amazing life in this special timeline.
Early Life
February 7, 1812: Charles Dickens is born to John and Elizabeth Dickens.
1824: John Dickens arrested for his debts and sent to Marshalsea prison. A 12-year-old Charles Dickens is forced to work at Warren’s Blacking Factory pasting labels on shoe polish containers to provide for the family.
1833: Dickens publishes his first story, “A Dinner at Poplar Walk,” in The Monthly Magazine.
1836: Dickens begins monthly installments of his first novel, The Pickwick Papers. The novel becomes a publishing phenomenon, going from selling 500 copies of the first installment to over 40,000 of the last one in 1847.
1837: Dickens’ first child, Charles Culliford Boz Dickens, is born—the first of his 10 children. He begins publishing monthly installm
- •
Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)
Illustration of Charles Dickens ©Charles Dickens is much loved for his great contribution to classic English literature. He was the quintessential Victorian author. His epic stories, vivid characters and exhaustive depiction of contemporary life are unforgettable.
His own story is one of rags to riches. He was born in Portsmouth on 7 February 1812, to John and Elizabeth Dickens. The good fortune of being sent to school at the age of nine was short-lived because his father, inspiration for the character of Mr Micawber in 'David Copperfield', was imprisoned for bad debt. The entire family, apart from Charles, were sent to Marshalsea along with their patriarch. Charles was sent to work in Warren's blacking factory and endured appalling conditions as well as loneliness and despair. After three years he was returned to school, but the experience was never forgotten and became fictionalised in two of his better-known novels 'David Copperfield' and 'Great Expectations'.
Like many others, he began his literary career as a journalist. His own father
- •
At one of his public readings, Dickens inspired William Treloar, who later became Lord Mayor of London, to help cripple children. The story of Tiny Tim from 'A Christmas Carol' was what sparked William Treloar to work on establishing the Lord Mayor Treloar Cripple's Hospital and College in 1908. This institution still exists today, and shows how Dickens was influential as a social reformer and critic (Charles Dickens: Impact on Medicine and Society).
Copyright ©fatunfo.pages.dev 2025