Works Cited The Dickens Page. http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/CD-Works.html The Literature Network. http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/christmascarol/ Charles Dickens. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/dickens.htm Charles Dickens Biography. http://www.dickens-literature.com/l_biography.html Gad’s Hill Place. http://www.perryweb.com/Dickens/life_events.shtml Works Cited The Dickens Page. http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/CD-Works.html The Literature Network. http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/christmascarol/ Charles Dickens. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/dickens.htm Charles Dickens Biography. http://www.dickens-literature.com/l_biography.html Gad’s Hill Place. http://www.perryweb.com/Dickens/life_events.shtml Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812, in Landport, Hampshire. His father was John Dickens a clerk in the navy- pay office. His mother was the daughter of Thomas Borrow. Her name was Elizabeth and Charles was the second of her eight children. His mother taught him how to read. His father kept books for him to read, because he knew that he was a prodigy in the works. From seven to nine years he was at a school kept in Clover Lane, Chatham, by a Baptist minister named William Giles, who gave him Goldsmith’s Bee as a keepsake when the call to Somerset House necessitated the removal of the family from Rochester to a shabby house in Bayham Street, Camden Town. It seems he was in school for a while. On April 2, 1836 Dickens married Catherine Hogarth, George Hogarth’s eldest daughter. What was interesting about Charles Dickens is that it seems he married the wrong women. Catherine Hogarth had seven sisters(along with six brothers) and Charles fell in love with the women collectively. He had a romance with Catherine’s sister Mary early on in the marriage. Another sister, Georgina, was a dear “friend” of his for the last ten years of his life. Charles and Catherine Dickens had ten children. He named one of his children Boz, which was a nickname he used on some of his essays. Charles Dickens died on Gad’s Hill Place on June 9, 1870. His marriage, even with ten children, did not last long as Mr. Dickens had a mistress. Charles Dickens first literary effort was “Sketches By Boz”, which he started in 1833. In 1836 the collection of essays was completed. novel was the Pickwick Papers. The novel was initially published in monthly installments from March of 1836 until November 1837. The Pickwick Papers were being written at the same time as Oliver Twist. He had fourteen completed novels in 1865. Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and our Mutual Friend are some of his most popular works. What can we learn from Charles Dickens?: It seemed as if everything was against him. However he had talent, and more importantly he had desire, drive and a strong belief in himself. He worked hard to make his dream life into a reality. Charles Dickens wasn't perfect. He was stubborn and sometimes quick tempered. He often blamed others for the problems that he himself caused. The force of will that enabled him to succeed prevented him from taking an honest look at his own life. While he was unable to learn from the lessons of his own life perhaps we, his readers, can be more fortunate. A study of his life reveals that perfection is not a qualification for success and that no one really defines us but ourselves. People didn’t have a lot of money then and Charles Dickens family was poor. His parents put all their money into one child. It wasn’t him. He was sent to work in a factory while his sister was in an academy for music. "It is required of every man...that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death." This was said by Scrooge's ex-business partner, Marley. In his ghastly, ghostly form, Jacob Marley visited Ebeniezer Scrooge in the middle of the night. He warned Scrooge of the things he would see that night. Because of his horrible treatment of people, Scrooge would have to be set straight. At the strike of one Scrooge would be visited by a spirit called the Spirit of Christmas Past. At two, another spirit would seek him out; its name was the Spirit of Christmas Present. Finally at three, a Ghost of Things to Come would show. They would all teach Scrooge a lesson of his cruel ways. Charles Dickens was the author of this book that has survived many generations. The book speaks of the holiday season and how some people are not as fortunate as others. Dickens makes it clear using such characters as Ebeniezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley, and even outside of the book, himself, that everyone has something to be greatful for. Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812, in Landport, Hampshire. His father was John Dickens who was a clerk in the navy-pay office. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Thomas Barrow. John and Elizabeth had eight children and the second of them all was Charles. His parents were very adament on education. However, they weren't a wealthy family. His parents put all their money into one child. It wasn't him. He was sent to work in a factory while his sister was in an academy for music. However, Dickens did not lack for a education. His mother taught him how to read. His father kept books for him, because he knew he had a prodigy in the works. From approxamately seven to nine years Charles was kept at a school in Clover Lane, Chatham, by a Baptist minister name William Giles. Minister Giles gave him Goldsmith's Bee as a keepsake. Dickens made sure he had a sound education and it paid off in the long run. On April 2, 1836 Dickens married Catherine Hogarth, George Hogarth's eldest daughter. Catherine Hograth had seven sisters(along with six brothers) and Charles fell in love with the women collectively. It seems like a cruel April Fool's joke, but it was said that Dickens may have mistakenly married the wrong woman. He had a romance with Catherine's sister Mary early on in the mariage. Another sister, Georgina was a dear "friend" of his during the last ten years of his life. During that time it was said that he also had another mistress named Ellan Ternan. His romance with Ellan soon made a mess of his life. He found that he was no longer in love with his wife and they soon seperated into two different bedrooms. Miss Ternan was an actress at the time. Dickens used to send her gifts all the time, until one was mistakenly delivered to his own house. Catherine saw that he was sending gifts to other women and got really upset. They were legally seperated afterwords. This drove Charles Dickens to what seemed like a temporary madness. "In September of 1860, behind his home at Gad's Hill Place, Charles Dickens tried to cover his tracks. He gathered "the accumulated letters and papers of twenty years" and set them ablaze in his backyard." It seemed that Dickens was trying to "cover his tracks" about his life. He was having an affair with two of his wife's sisters, which was considered incest at the time. That would have been a huge scandal. Along with that his seperation from his wife was public, which was a scandal of that time period. One view was that he couldn't take the pressures of his life so he decided to forget about the past. One way to forget about the past is to make sure it never existed. His mother was senile, unable to take care of herself. His brother died and if anyone got word of his mistresses he could be ruined. Throughout all this time, however, Dickens was having a huge amount of success with his works. Charles Dickens first literary effort was published in 1833. It was called "Sketches by Boz". Subsequently, he named the first of his ten children after his penname, Boz. His finished the series of essays by 1836. During the same year he published his first novel, the Pickwick Papers. As with most of his novels, it was published in monthly installments. The Pickwick Papers was written at the same time as Oliver Twist. He finished his last novel in 1865 which added up to number fourteen. His works included: Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and Our Mutual Friend. Charles Dickens went against the odds when he became an successful author. He came from a poor family and wasn't picked to be the most talented. He knew he had the talent though. He also had the drive, the want, and confidence to go along with it. He worked as hard as he could to make his dream a reality. Dickens wasn't perfect, but he was able to learn from all of his lessons Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812, in Landport, Hampshire. His father was John Dickens a clerk in the navy- pay office. His mother was the daughter of Thomas Borrow. Her name was Elizabeth and Charles was the second of her eight children. His mother taught him how to read. His father kept books for him to read, because he knew that he was a prodigy in the works. From seven to nine years he was at a school kept in Clover Lane, Chatham, by a Baptist minister named William Giles, who gave him Goldsmith’s Bee as a keepsake when the call to Somerset House necessitated the removal of the family from Rochester to a shabby house in Bayham Street, Camden Town. It seems he was in school for a while. On April 2, 1836 Dickens married Catherine Hogarth, George Hogarth’s eldest daughter. What was interesting about Charles Dickens is that it seems he married the wrong women. Catherine Hogarth had seven sisters(along with six brothers) and Charles fell in love with the women collectively. He had a romance with Catherine’s sister Mary early on in the marriage. Another sister, Georgina, was a dear “friend” of his for the last ten years of his life. Charles and Catherine Dickens had ten children. He named one of his children Boz, which was a nickname he used on some of his essays. Charles Dickens died on Gad’s Hill Place on June 9, 1870. His marriage, even with ten children, did not last long as Mr. Dickens had a mistress. Charles Dickens first literary effort was “Sketches By Boz”, which he started in 1833. In 1836 the collection of essays was completed. novel was the Pickwick Papers. The novel was initially published in monthly installments from March of 1836 until November 1837. The Pickwick Papers were being written at the same time as Oliver Twist. He had fourteen completed novels in 1865. Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and our Mutual Friend are some of his most popular works. What can we learn from Charles Dickens?: It seemed as if everything was against him. However he had talent, and more importantly he had desire, drive and a strong belief in himself. He worked hard to make his dream life into a reality. Charles Dickens wasn't perfect. He was stubborn and sometimes quick tempered. He often blamed others for the problems that he himself caused. The force of will that enabled him to succeed prevented him from taking an honest look at his own life. While he was unable to learn from the lessons of his own life perhaps we, his readers, can be more fortunate. A study of his life reveals that perfection is not a qualification for success and that no one really defines us but ourselves. People didn’t have a lot of money then and Charles Dickens family was poor. His parents put all their money into one child. It wasn’t him. He was sent to work in a factory while his sister was in an academy for music.