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Charles Dickens

Born

in Portsmouth, England

February 07, 1812

Died

June 09, 1870

Genre

Historical Fiction, Fiction

Influences

Thomas Carlyle, Miguel de Cervantes, Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Tob ...more

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Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaign Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.

Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.

On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.

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Combine Editions
Charles Dickens’s books

Average rating: 3.92 · 4,262,482 ratings · 167,865 reviews · 12,938 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Tale of Two Cities 3.88 avg rating — 1,016,272 ratings — published 1859 — 1116 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Christmas Carol 4.09 avg rating — 944,330 ratings — published 1843 — 4622 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Great Expectations 3.80 avg rating — 877,763 ratings — published 1861 — 7128 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Oliver Twist 3.88 avg rating — 429,655 ratings — published 1838 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	David Copperfield 4.05 avg rating — 260,023 ratings — published 1850 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bleak House 4.02 avg rating — 114,648 ratings — published 1853 — 50 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hard Times 3.55 avg rating — 74,874 ratings — published 1854 — 3445 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Christmas Carol / The Chimes / The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens, Katharine Kroeber Wiley (Introduction) 4.14 avg rating — 59,185 ratings — published 1843 — 56 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Little Dorrit really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 49,981 ratings — published 1857 — 1225 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nicholas Nickleby 3.95 avg rating — 47,068 ratings — published 1839 — 1063 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Charles Dickens…

Series by Charles Dickens

Our Mutual Friend (3 books)
by

Charles Dickens,

Richard Gaughan (Goodreads Author) (Introduction)

4.09 avg rating — 31,593 ratings

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (3 books)
by

Charles Dickens

3.67 avg rating — 1,473 ratings

Bleak House (3 books)
by

Charles Dickens

4.21 avg rating — 706 ratings

The Old Curiosity Shop (2 books)
by

Charles Dickens,

Michigan Historical Reprint Series

3.82 avg rating — 159 ratings

Dickens' Places (2 books)
by

Charles Dickens,

George Cruikshank (Illustrator)

3.76 avg rating — 70 ratings

More series by Charles Dickens…

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Polls

December 2015 Revisit the Shelf Reread Poll

1955, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, 378 pages

36 votes, 26.7%

1962, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, 212 pages

18 votes, 13.3%

1838, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, 554 pages

15 votes, 11.1%

1814, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, 507 pages

12 votes, 8.9%

1853, Villette by Charlotte Brontë, 573 pages

11 votes, 8.1%

1880, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, 449 pages

10 votes, 7.4%

1877, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 964 pages

10 votes, 7.4%

1847, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, 507 pages

9 votes, 6.7%

1962, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, 325 pages

8 votes, 5.9%

1844, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, 786 pages

6 votes, 4.4%

135 total votes

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Charles Dickens’s Followers (31,568)

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