Charles Dickens' Childhood

Charles Dickens' Early Life

• Charles Dickens grew up in a nice house and received a good education until he was 12 years old.
• In 1824, his father went to prison due to debt, and Charles had to stop going to school, live alone, and work in a factory to make ends meet.
• He worked in a factory, putting labels onto bottles, and was paid very little, living hand-to-mouth.

Dickens' Inspiration

• His experience working with other poor people in a factory made him a compassionate writer, aware of the difficult lives many people were living.
• Living in a part of London with a workhouse nearby, Dickens was aware of the malnourished children living and working in terrible conditions.

Writing Career

• Dickens started writing stories in magazines, and his stories were very popular.
• He wrote Oliver Twist, a novel about a boy who spent time in a workhouse, based on real events and people in London.
• Oliver Twist was published in a magazine, and its readers were shocked by the realities of poverty in London.

Themes and Beliefs

• Dickens believed that being poor often led to a life of crime, as seen in the character Fagin in Oliver Twist.
• He believed that education was the best escape from poverty, and later helped support the Ragged Schools, which provided education to poor children.

Literary Legacy

• Dickens wrote many famous novels, including Nicholas Nickleby (1839), David Copperfield (1850), and Great Expectations (1861).
• Poor people often feature in his novels, which continue to entertain and educate readers today.
• Many of his books have been made into films, shining a light on the lives of poverty that were often hidden or ignored at the time.