Charles Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth, England. As a young boy, he worked at a boot blacking factory and his father was imprisoned for debt, forcing Charles to leave school. He later became a journalist and began publishing short stories and novels in the 1830s such as The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and A Christmas Carol. Dickens wrote extensively about the social problems and poverty of Victorian London. He became one of the most popular writers in English and wrote many acclaimed novels until his death in 1870 at the age of 58.

2. Dickens’ Biography
• He was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth.
• 1824 -- Dickens worked at
Warren’s Blacking Warehouse
when he was just 12 years old
(labeling jars of shoe polish)
• 1824 -- Mr. Dickens (Charles’ father) was taken to
debtors’ prison; his family joins him after some
time.

3. More Bio
• Charles is pulled out of private school.
• 1827 - Charles, now 15, becomes law clerk
and after working even in his free time, he
decides to become a freelance writer.
• 1834 - Charles takes Boz as a pseudonym .
• 1834 - Charles’ dad is re-arrested for debts.

4. Dickens starts Publishing!
• 1836 -- Sketches by Boz
(his first collection of pieces)
• 1837 -- The Pickwick Papers
(his first novel)
• and on a personal note...

5. “Here Comes the Bride…”
• 1836 (Dickens is
24) he and
Catherine Hogarth
get married
• and…one year
later, the first “little
Dickens” is born.
• and one year after
that, baby 2 is
born...

6. but, back to business!
1837-- Oliver Twist is serially
published.
It is Charles Dickens' second
novel. It is about a boy
named Oliver Twist, who
escapes from a workhouse
and meets a gang of
pickpockets in London. The
novel is one of Dickens'
most well-known works, and
has been the subject of
numerous film and television
adaptations.

7. But what was happening in 1837??
• King William IV of England dies.
• Victoria becomes queen
of England. The British Empire
reached its greatest expansion under
her reign. The era is often
characterized as a long period of
peace and economic, colonial, and industrial consolidation.
However, during the Industrial Revolution, the population
in England grew a huge amount. This was one of the main
causes for poverty. More people means less work for
everybody.

8. And, because of the poverty, the children in families
were expected to contribute to the family income.
Usually children at the age of eight were already
working in factories and mines. A child worked for at
least ten hours a day.

10. And Dickens, meanwhile…
• 1838 -- Nicholas Nickleby
(which is around the life and adventures of
Nicholas, a young man who must take care of
his mother and sister after the death of his
father.)
• 1840 -- The Old Curiosity Shop
• 1841 -- Barnaby Rudge
• 1842 -- American Notes (Dickens made his first trip to America
travelling with his wife to the United States and Canada, a journey which
was successful in spite of his support for the abolition of slavery)

11. And more Dickens’ books!
• 1843 -- A Christmas Carol
(the book was written and published at a time when Britain
was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten Christmas
traditions, and at the time when new customs such as the
Christmas tree and greeting cards were being introduced. )
• 1844 -- Martin Chuzzlewit
• 1844 -- The Chimes
• 1845 -- The Cricket on the Hearth
• 1846 -- The Battle of Life
• 1846 -- Dombey and Son

12. And also...
• 1850 -- David Copperfield
• 1853 -- Bleak House
• 1854 -- Hard Times
• 1857 -- Little Dorrit …and he
knows the actress Ellen Ternan,
he falls in love and separates
from his wife.
Ellen Ternan

13. His last works…
• 1859 -- A Tale of Two Cities
• 1861 -- *Great Expectations
• 1865 -- Our Mutual Friend (Dickens survives a
train crash this year. After helping other people he climbs
back into the carriage to rescue the manuscript of his novel
Our Mutual Friend.)
• 1869 -- The Mystery of Edwin Drood (he left
it unfinished)

14. A sad ending
• 1870 -- Dickens, who had been in declining health
since 1865, died of a stroke.
• He is buried in the Poets’ Corner in Westminster
Abbey in London

15. In conclusion…
• Dickens wrote 24 major
novels.
• His peak of creativity
and literary prowess was
in his mid - late career
from 1848 - 1865.
• He fathered 10 children.
• He gave numerous talks
across Europe and
America.

16. And what’s more important…
• He was an advocate of child labour laws to protect
children.
• He opposed cruelty, deprivation and corporal
punishment in the education of children.
• He was also against the abuses of the Victorian
legal and penal systems.
• He organized amateur theatricals for charitable
purposes.
• He created an institution for homeless and "fallen"
women, offering them a positive alternative to the
prostitution and crime.
• He attacked slavery.

17. Possible unknown vocabulary
• label: etiquetar
• shoe polish:
betum per a sabates
• debtor: deutor
• pull out: treure
• clerk: administratiu, oficinista
• freelance: independent
• bride: núvia
• workhouse: hospici
• gang: banda
• pickpockets: carterista
• reach: assolir
• poverty: pobresa
• income: ingressos
•crash: accident, xoc
•carriage: vagó
•stroke: atac de cor
•buried: enterrat
•prowess: destresa
•deprivation: privació
•theatricals:
representacions teatrals
•charitable: de
beneficència