Charles Dickens, British writer and social critic, distinguished figure of world literature

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Charles John Huffam Dickens  (1812 –1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world’s best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are still widely read today.

Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors’ prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed readings extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children’s rights, education, and other social reforms.

Dickens’s literary success began 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 instalments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. Cliffhanger endings in his serial publications kept readers in suspense.The installment 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 improved the character with positive features. His plots were carefully constructed, and he often wove 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.

His 1843 novella A Christmas Carol remains especially popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities (set in London and Paris) is his best-known work of historical fiction. The most famous celebrity of his era, he undertook, in response to public demand, a series of public reading tours in the later part of his career. Dickens has been praised by many of his fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell, G. K. Chesterton, and Tom Wolfe—for his realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. However, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of sentimentalism.

The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters

Notable works

Dickens published well over a dozen major novels and novellas, 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.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Charles Dickens)

Dickens ‘s works available at worldreadingclub:

  • A Christmas Carol – Novel
  • David Copperfield – Novel
  • Great Expectations – Novel
  • Hard Times – Novel
  • Oliver Twist – Novel
  • The Battle of Life – Novel
  • The Great Instauration – Novel
  • The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain – Novel
  • The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices – Novel
  • The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Novel
  • The Old Curiosity Shop – Novel
  • A House to Let – Collected Tales
  • Contributions to All The Year Round – Collected Tales
  • Miscellaneous Papers – Collected Tales
  • The Mudfog and Other Sketches – Collected Tales
  • Three Ghost Stories – Collected Tales
  • A Child’s History of England – Essay
  • A Message from the Sea – Tale
  • Doctor Marigold – Tale
  • George Silverman’s Explanation – Tale
  • Going into Society – Tale
  • Holiday Romance – Tale
  • Hunted Down – Tale
  • Mrs. Lirriper’s Legacy – Tale
  • Mrs. Lirriper’s Lodgings – Tale
  • Mugby Junction – Tale
  • The Chimes – Tale
  • The Cricket on the Hearth – Tale
  • The haunted house – Tale
  • The Holly-Tree – Tale
  • The Lamplighter – Tale
  • The Perils of Certain English Prisoners – Tale
  • The Wreck of the Golden Mary – Tale
  • Tom Tiddler’s Ground – Tale
  • No Thoroughfare – Novel

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