Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was born near Portsmouth on February 7, 1812. He was the second child of John and Elizabeth Dickens. John made a living in the payroll office of the Navy. He moved his family to Chatham and worked in the naval dockyard, where Charles experienced his happiest childhood memories (Purdue, David). His father would always spend more money than he earned. John Dickens could not keep his style of living without small loans, most of which, came from trades-people in the currency of goods and services. The loans were to be paid for in part or in full at the next payday. He began to find himself with more debts and anticipated expenses than cash (Kaplan 31). John also borrowed money from his mother, which was deducted from his share of her small estate. In June 1822, unexpectedly, he was transferred back to London. The family was on the move again, and it was even harder to find a home with the strain of unpaid bills and almost no cash (Kaplan 32). Charles started school at the age of nine, but dropped out when his father was imprisoned for debt in 1824. He was then forced to support himself by working in a shoe-polish factory, earning six shillings a week (Cody, David). The boy considered
Afterwards, Charles still maintained his fame with a steady production of novels. He was a man with a lot of energy and wide talents. Even though Dickens was now a very successful novelist, he still engaged in many other activities. He administered charitable organizations, and pressed for many social reforms (“Charles Dickens”). Charles Dickens visited the United States in 1842, to lecture in favor of an international copyright agreement. However, he upset his hosts by criticizing slavery. Charles decided to invest in a new radical newspaper, The Daily News. He became editor and in the first edition published on 21st January 1846, he wrote: "The principles advocated in The Daily News will be principles of progress, improvement, education, equal legislation, civil and religious liberty (“Charles Dickens”)." The Daily News was not a big success, so Dickens resigned as editor. However, he was determined to create a paper where he could communicate his ideas on social reform. In 1850 he began editing “Household Worlds," a weekly journal included articles on politics, science and history. To increase the number of people willing to buy “Household Words”, it also contained short stories and comical pieces. By 1851, the twenty-four page “Household Words” was rapidly selling 40,000 copies a week (“Charles Dickens”). Dickens’ extra literary activities also included managing a theatrical company that played before Queen Victoria in 1851; a
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Approximate Word count = 998
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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