Charles Dickens' Childhood

Why did Charles Dickens support the Ragged Schools?

What is a common feature of Charles Dickens' novels?

What was Charles Dickens' family situation when he was 12 years old?

What is the title of one of Charles Dickens' famous novels that was published in 1839?

What was Charles Dickens' first job after leaving school?

Why are Charles Dickens' novels still popular today?

What is the significance of Charles Dickens' novels in terms of social commentary?

Why did Charles Dickens' father want him to leave the factory?

Why did Charles Dickens make fun of people who think they are important in his novels?

What did Charles Dickens do after leaving the factory?

What did Charles Dickens become later in his life?

What was Charles Dickens' inspiration for writing Oliver Twist?

What was the initial platform for Charles Dickens' stories?

What did Charles Dickens believe was often a result of poverty?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.