From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, edited, with links to on-line archives of his works (some to be added).
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| Dickens in New York, 1868 Wikimedia Commons; PD-US |
Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens was forced to leave school to work in a factory when his father was thrown into debtors' prison. Although he had little formal education, his early impoverishment drove him to succeed. Over his career he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas 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, famous for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly installments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. The installment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modifed 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 features. 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.[8] 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.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, is one of the most influential works ever written, and it remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. His creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to G. K. Chesterton and George Orwell—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand Oscar Wilde, Henry James and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing,
Notable works
Charles Dickens published over a dozen major novels, a large number of short stories (including a number of Christmas-themed stories), a handful of plays, and several non-fiction books. Dickens's novels were initially serialised in weekly and monthly magazines, then reprinted in standard book formats.
Novels
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club
(Monthly serial, April 1836 to November 1837)
The Adventures of Oliver Twist
(Monthly serial in Bentley's Miscellany, February 1837 to April 1839)
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
(Monthly serial, April 1838 to October 1839)
The Old Curiosity Shop
(Weekly serial in Master Humphrey's Clock, 25 April 1840, to 6 February 1841)
Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty
(Weekly serial in Master Humphrey's Clock, 13 February 1841, to 27 November 1841)
The Christmas books:
A Christmas Carol (1843)
The Chimes (1844)
The Cricket on the Hearth (1845)
The Battle of Life (1846)
The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain (1848)
The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
(Monthly serial, January 1843 to July 1844)
Dombey and Son
(Monthly serial, October 1846 to April 1848)
David Copperfield
(Monthly serial, May 1849 to November 1850)
Bleak House
(Monthly serial, March 1852 to September 1853)
Hard Times: For These Times
(Weekly serial in Household Words, 1 April 1854, to 12 August 1854)
Little Dorrit
(Monthly serial, December 1855 to June 1857)
A Tale of Two Cities
(Weekly serial in All the Year Round, 30 April 1859, to 26 November 1859)
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Great Expectations
(Weekly serial in All the Year Round, 1 December 1860 to 3 August 1861)
Our Mutual Friend
(Monthly serial, May 1864 to November 1865)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
(Monthly serial, April 1870 to September 1870. Only six of twelve planned numbers completed)
Short story collections
Sketches by Boz (1836)
The Mudfog Papers (1837) in Bentley's Miscellany magazine
Reprinted Pieces (1861)
The Uncommercial Traveller (1860–1869)
Christmas numbers of Household Words magazine:
What Christmas Is, as We Grow Older (1851)
A Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire (1852)
Another Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire (1853)
The Seven Poor Travellers (1854)
The Holly-Tree Inn (1855)
The Wreck of the "Golden Mary" (1856)
The Perils of Certain English Prisoners (1857)
A House to Let (1858)
Christmas numbers of All the Year Round magazine:
The Haunted House (1859)
A Message from the Sea (1860)
Tom Tiddler's Ground (1861)
Somebody's Luggage (1862)
Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings (1863)
Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy (1864)
Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions (1865)
Mugby Junction (1866)
No Thoroughfare (1867)
Selected non-fiction, poetry, and plays
The Village Coquettes (Plays, 1836)
The Fine Old English Gentleman (poetry, 1841)
Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi (1838)
American Notes: For General Circulation (1842)
Pictures from Italy (1846)
The Life of Our Lord: As Written for His Children (1849)
A Child's History of England (1853)
The Frozen Deep (play, 1857)
Speeches, Letters and Sayings (1870)
