2. Charles Dickens was He moved to Kent,
born 1812 in Landport where he spent most of
England his childhood
3. His father was sent to Marshalsea
prison for being in debt
• This forced a severe hardship on
the Dickens family that Charles
used throughout his writings
Charles was sent to live with
destitute family friend, Elizabeth
Roylance
• She later became the character,
Mrs. Pipchin in his book Dombey
and Son
Charles went to work in a factory,
Warren Blacking Warehouse, to
pay room/board and support his
family
• Exhausting and cruel work left an
impression on Dickens and later
become the basis for many of his
essays
4. Charles’ father was released from
prison due to a relative dying and
leaving inheritance
• The money was used to pay off all
the debts his father owed
Charles’ family moves to Camden
Town after prison
Charles attends Wellington
Academy for his schooling
• Charles later references this
school in David Copperfield
5. Charles was not very fond of
Wellington Academy
He saw no discipline and life was Wellington Academy
very brutal at the Academy
He leaves Wellington at age 15
• Charles was a mediocre student
and didn’t enjoy school
Charles becomes employed as
clerk in a solicitor’s office
• This was very hard, tedious work
that Charles did not enjoy
6. Charles wants to become a
reporter
He starts out as a freelance writer
• Charles unites with a relative who
shares his box at the commons
Charles gets his start by writing
about political issues
• This education later was
incorporated into his novel Bleak
House
He finds a job with a newspaper -
The Morning Chronicle
7. Charles starts to publish stories in
local magazines
He goes on to write his first novel
His success continues and he
writes Oliver Twist
Charles references some of his
own life in the novel
• Models Oliver after an orphan
who worked hard as young boy
for next to nothing, just as
Charles had done
Charles wants his novels to bring
attention to the poor and
inadequate living conditions of
the slums
8. Charles visits Manchester,
England to tour factories
During this visit he also tours a
school
He is appalled by the working
conditions in the factories
• He witnesses child labor and is
saddened by all of this
While in Manchester he gives a
speech concerning the issues of
the poor and child labor
9. Charles’ visit to Manchester has
him considering writing A
Christmas Carol
He models some characters after
family members
• Tiny Tim who resembles his
nephew who was ill
• Fran is modeled after his sister
Frances who did not live long
enough to read A Christmas Carol
He uses actual places he has
lived or visited to include
Wellington Academy in A
Christmas Carol
10. Charles desires the wealthy
people of the Victorian Era see
that the poor did not have to
live in work houses or on the
streets, nor were they all
criminals
He wanted the affluent
members of British society to
know that helping the
disadvantaged can bring
fulfillment to one’s life