... (1836) was a success. Soon Dickens was commissioned to write burlesque sporting sketches; the result was The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1836-37), which promptly made Dickens and his characters, especially Sam Weller and Mr. Pickwick, famous. In 1836 he married Catherine Hogarth, who was to bear him 10 children; the marriage, however, was never happy. Dickens had a tender regard ... approval of the abolition of slavery. He replied with sharp criticism of America in American Notes (1842) and the novel Martin Chuzzlewit (1843). The first of his Christmas books was the well-lov...

• Word Count: 1264
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... In 1842, he lectured in the United States in favor of an international opposition to slavery soon to be followed by the publication of A Christmas Carol, an ever-popular children's story. Well known throughout America and England, Dickens life was shadowed by domestic unhappiness. He later divorced his wife ... In commenting on these errors, John Butts and Kathleen Tillotison remark: This technique brought on a loose, episodic treatment with a vast, intricate plot, numerous characters and much repetition to jog the reader's memory. Instead of the whole novel slowly building to a real c...

• Word Count: 2276
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School