FROMTOP:©MUSEUMOFLONDON; BARBARASINGER/GETTY IMAGES
THE ULTIMATE STORYTELLER
ExceedingOur
Expectations
On the200thanniversaryof
CHARLES
DICKENS
’ birth,we takeamoment to
celebrate thegreat author’s lifeand legacy.
E
VEN IFYOU’VENEVERWALKED
thecobbledstreets
ofLondonordrunkapint inoneof itsdarkened tav-
erns, chances are they’re familiar toyou. Formany,
the sights, smells and soundsof the cityas itwas in
the 19th century are as vivid inourminds as thoseofChicagoor
NewYork, thanks toCharlesDickens, themost prolific and cel-
ebratedBritishauthorfromtheVictorianera.Amasterofcharacter
development—Dickenscreatednearly1,000charactersduringhis
lifetime—andasocialcriticandcommentatorwith the innateabil-
itytore-createhissurroundingsthroughwords,Dickenspainteda
writtenpictureof his countryunlikeanyauthor
beforeorsince.Now, twocenturiesafterhisbirth,
the author andhis legacy—which includes
The
AdventuresofOliverTwist
,
DavidCopperfield
,
Hard
Times
,
GreatExpectations
and
ATaleofTwoCities
;
novellas suchas
AChristmasCarol
; andavariety
ofpoetry, playsandnonfiction—arenotonlyper-
tinentbut also remainascherished todayas they
wereduringhisownlifetime.Infact,notoneofhis
novelshasevergoneoutofprint.
Thesecondofeightchildren,CharlesJohnHuf-
famDickenswas born onFeb. 7, 1812, inPorts-
mouth,Hampshire, an islandcityandnaval port
located74miles southwest of London, alongEn-
gland’s southerncoast.He livedhere for thefirst
fiveyearsofhis life,andhisfatherworkedasaclerk inthepayoce
of the localRoyalDockyard. In1817,his fatherwas transferredand
the familymovednortheast toChatham inKent (nowhome to a
Dickens theme park). Here, Dickens spent ahappy and carefree
childhoodexploringtheoutdoors,enjoyingprivate
schoolingandreadingeverythinghecouldgethis
hands on.WhenDickens turned 12, though, the
family fell onhard times andhad to relocate to
London’sCamdenTown. Shortly thereafter, his
father landed inadebtor’sprison, takingmost of
thefamilywithhim.Astheeldestson,Dickenswas
sent towork ina shoe-blacking factory,wherehe
clocked 10-hour days and enduredhorrid condi-
tions, includingratsandrottingfloors.Theexperi-
ence,coupledwiththefactthathisparentsfailedto
retrievehimaftertheirrelease,heavilyinfluenced
theauthor’soutlookon lifeandhisfuturewritings.
Dickens became a crusader for thepoor and the
workingclass,andthevastdiscrepanciesbetween
30
FEBRUARY 01, 2012
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