DICKENS, CHARLES

DICKENS, CHARLES
   celebrated English novelist, born at Landport, Portsmouth; son of a navy clerk, latterly in great straits; was brought up amid hardships; was sent to a solicitor's office as a clerk, learned shorthand, and became a reporter, a post in which he learned much of what afterwards served him as an author; wrote sketches for the Monthly Magazine under the name of "Boz" in 1834, and the "Pickwick Papers" in 1836-37, which established his popularity; these were succeeded by "Oliver Twist" in 1838, "Nicholas Nickleby" in 1839, and others which it is needless to enumerate, as they are all known wherever the English language is spoken; they were all written with an aim, and as Ruskin witnesses, "he was entirely right in his main drift and purpose in every book he has written," though he thinks we are apt "to lose sight of his wit and insight, because he chooses to speak in a circle of stage fire.... Allowing for his manner of telling them, the things he tells us are always true"; being a born actor, and fain in his youth to become one, he latterly gave public readings from his works, which were immensely popular; "acted better," says Carlyle, who witnessed one of these performances, "than any Macready in the world; a whole tragic, comic, heroic theatre visible, performing under one hat, and keeping us laughing - in a sorry way some of us thought - the whole night"; the strain proved too much for him; he was seized with a fit at his residence, Gad's Hill, near Rochester, on June 8, 1870, and died the following morning; he was a little man, with clear blue intelligent eyes, a face of most extreme mobility, and a quiet shrewdness of expression (1812-1870).

The Nuttall Encyclopaedia. . 1907.

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  • DICKENS, CHARLES° — (1812–1870), English novelist. One of his first full length novels, Oliver Twist (1837–38), devoted to the evils of the poor law system, introduces a Jewish villain, Fagin, a corrupter of youth and receiver of stolen goods. With Shakespeare s… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Dickens, Charles — ▪ British novelist Introduction in full  Charles John Huffam Dickens   born Feb. 7, 1812, Portsmouth, Hampshire, Eng. died June 9, 1870, Gad s Hill, near Chatham, Kent  English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian era. His …   Universalium

  • Dickens, Charles Huffham — (1812 1870)    He was born at 387 Mile End Terrace, Commercial Road, Landport, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire. His father was a clerk in the navy pay office at Portsmouth dockyard before moving to Chatham, Kent, around 1816. The father spent some …   British and Irish poets

  • Dickens, Charles (John Huffam) — (7 feb. 1812, Portsmouth, Hampshire, Inglaterra–9 jun. 1870, Gad s Hill, cerca de Chatham, Kent). Novelista británico, a menudo considerado el máximo exponente del período victoriano. Su padre, un empleado, cayó en prisión por deudas, y Dickens… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Dickens, Charles (John Huffam) — born Feb. 7, 1812, Portsmouth, Hampshire, Eng. died June 9, 1870, Gad s Hill, near Chatham, Kent British novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. When Dickens s father, a clerk, was thrown into debtors prison, the boy… …   Universalium

  • Dickens,Charles John Huffam — Dick·ens (dĭkʹĭnz), Charles John Huffam. Pen name Boz. 1812 1870. British writer known for his tales of Victorian life and times. His works, which first appeared in serialized form, include The Pickwick Papers (1836 1837), Oliver Twist (1837… …   Universalium

  • Dickens, Charles — ► (1812 70) Escritor británico, representante de la novela de inspiración social. En 1836 inició la publicación por entregas de Los papeles póstumos del Club Pickwick, obra maestra de la literatura de humor. Muy distinta es Oliver Twist (1837 38) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Dickens, Charles — (1812 1870)    Novelist, b. at Landport, near Portsmouth, where his f. was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office. The hardships and mortifications of his early life, his want of regular schooling, and his miserable time in the blacking factory, which… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Dickens — Dickens, Charles …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Charles Dickens — Dickens redirects here. For other uses, see Dickens (disambiguation). Charles Dickens …   Wikipedia

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