Fun Facts About Charles Dickens
- Charles Dickens left school at 12 to work ten-hour days pasting labels on pots of boot blacking for six shillings a week, while his father sat in debtors' prison.[1]
- In the 1865 Staplehurst rail crash, Dickens's carriage was left hanging off a bridge. He tended the wounded, then returned to the carriage for his unfinished manuscript of Our Mutual Friend.[1]
- Dickens's pen name "Boz" apparently came from his brother's nickname "Moses," which sounded like "Boses" when said with a head cold.[1]
- As a child, Dickens walked past Gads Hill Place and dreamed of living there. In 1856 his writing income let him buy it.[1]
- The young Queen Victoria read Oliver Twist and The Pickwick Papers and stayed up until midnight discussing them.[1][3][4]
- Dickens's meeting with Hans Christian Andersen may have helped inspire the fawning Uriah Heep in David Copperfield.[1][5][6]
- Charles Dickens was alive at the same time as Sun Yat-sen — their lives overlapped for 4 years (1866–1870).[1][2][7][8]
- Charles Dickens lived to about 58, from 1812 until 1870.[1][2]
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and journalist. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today.[1]
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Questions About Charles Dickens
When was Charles Dickens born?
Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, and died on June 9, 1870.
How old was Charles Dickens at death?
Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, and died on June 9, 1870, at age 58.
What was Charles Dickens known for?
Charles Dickens was known for: A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist. Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and journalist. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today.
Who was alive at the same time as Charles Dickens?
Charles Dickens's closest contemporary was Charles Babbage. Their lives overlapped for 58 years.
Sources
- Charles Dickens — Wikipedia. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Charles Dickens (Q5686) — Wikidata
- Queen Victoria — Wikipedia
- Queen Victoria (Q9439) — Wikidata
- Hans Christian Andersen — Wikipedia
- Hans Christian Andersen (Q5673) — Wikidata
- Sun Yat-sen — Wikipedia
- Sun Yat-sen (Q8573) — Wikidata
- Portrait: Dickens Gurney head.jpg — Wikimedia Commons. Jeremiah Gurney, Public domain