Charles Dickens
was an English writer and social critic who is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period and the creator of some of the world's most memorable fictional characters.During his lifetime Dickens's works enjoyed unprecedented popularity
and fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was fully
recognized by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories
continue to enjoy an enduring popularity among the general reading
public.
Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens left school to work in a factory
after his father was thrown into debtors' prison. Though he had little
formal education, his early impoverishment drove him to succeed. He
edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels and hundreds of
short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed
extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned
vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens sprang to fame with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers.
Within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity,
celebrated for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and
society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly instalments,
pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication.The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's
reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based
on such feedback. For example, when his wife's chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her disabilities, Dickens went on to improve the character with positive lineaments.Fagin in Oliver Twist apparently mirrors the famous fence, Ikey Solomon;His caricature of Leigh Hunt in the figure of Mr Skimpole in Bleak House was likewise toned down on advice from some of his friends, as they read episodes. In the same novel, both Lawrence Boythorne and Mooney the beadle are drawn from real life – Boythorne from Walter Savage Landor and Mooney from 'Looney', a beadle at Salisbury Square. His plots were carefully constructed, and Dickens often wove in elements from topical events into his narratives. 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.
