“Annual income twenty
pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds, nineteen shillings and six pence,
result: happiness! Annual income twenty
pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result: misery!”
― Wilson Micawber, David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was
born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth,
England. Because of poverty, he was
forced to leave school and work in a blacking factory when his father entered
debtors prison, just to feed himself. No
kidding, you can’t make this stuff up. He
read constantly, escaping into books for solace and comfort, and because he
craved an education. Despite a lack of
formal training, he later found work in publications in London, where he worked
as an editor of a weekly journal. He
bagan to publish stories in the journal (Bleak
House was published in installments and later published as a book – one that
is long and difficult to piece together). Arnold Hausser wrote that “…masses of the illiterate poor chipped in ha'pennies to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up and inspiring a new class of readers.”
He was revered by the English as a literary genius, enjoying what
authors can only dream about: popularity during his lifetime. Over the course of his fifty-eight years,
Dickens wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction
articles. He also was an important
voice, advocating reform for children’s laws, especially those of child
labor.

Why He’s Good: Because
he’s Dickens. He knows how to terrify
you to your core – “He scared the Dickens out of me” is an idiom for a
reason. He creates characters that are
so multifaceted that you could swear that they are real – and that you’re
related to them. I can sketch the faces
of Wilkins Micawber and Mr. Dick, not just from words that Dickens has written,
but because they live in my heart forever. For writers, few masters can compare
to William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.
They epitomize the beautiful skill of presenting a story with the most
masterful language imaginable.
Plot Variations: A young man, left fatherless, makes his way
to the big city to find his Uncle in order to find support for himself, his
mother and sister. An orphan is sold on
the streets because of insolence at his oppressive orphanage. A boy is raised in a school for the unwanted,
making friends that will last a lifetime.
A young writer, working as a Parliamentary reporter and a roving
journalist takes over a failing newpaper and finds success in his collection of
color sketches of London life.
Buy One: There is no easy way to do this. If I do recommend reading Dickens to a non-reader, I often recommend “A
Christmas Carol” just to show how Dickens achieves the impossible- raising the
dead to life. To the reader, I recommend
David Copperfield, the closest thing
to an autobiography that Dickens has. As
you follow David through his life, all you can think is “How can this happen to
a child in a first-world country?” The
answer that Dickens gives the reader is the same: “How can this happen to a
child in a first-world country?” Available here for less than eight bucks.

Trivia: Dickens had ten children, and was said to have
lavished them with attention and love. Just
like Pip in Great Expectations, and
many of the characters he created, he gave each of his own children their own special
nickname, like "Skittles" and
"Plorn."
Why I am an English
Major: Dickens elevated language for
the working poor. He brought beauty,
through words, into the world. He gave
us characters that we would give our hearts to, loved us without knowing us,
and comforted us in our grief by letting us know that we are not alone. I love him and relate to him. I leave you
with a quote that is attributed to Dickens near the end of his life:
“Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to
do it well; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself
completely; in great aims and in small I have always thoroughly been in earnest.”
~ Charles Dickens
Excellent,Brazen!
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