Who is Charles Dickens?
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is the most acclaimed writer of the Victorian Era. His childhood was one of difficulty. He received some education, but his father was indiscriminate with his money, and when Dickens was 12, John was imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea. Young Charles Dickens went to work blacking bottles. This early experience, after some success at school, wounded Dickens deeply. He reflects on it in his semi-autobiographical novel, David Copperfield as well as in the novel Little Dorrit , which deals particularly with the Marshalsea. When his father paid his debt, Charles Dickens resumed his studies. He studied law and became a law reporter for Doctors Commons, the proctors who proofed wills and also defended laws regarding mariners and relating to the Church of England. His opinions on proctors makes its way into both Copperfield and his masterful Bleak House. By the 1830s, Charles Dickens began writing opinion pieces and short stories, and became a contributor to sever
