Charles Dickens, short note for UP PGT English

                                           Charles Dickens for UP PGT English

             Personal Life and Background

1. Charles John Huffam Dickens was the full name of the author.
2. He was born on February 7, 1812.
3. His birthplace was Landport, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.
4. Dickens belonged to the Victorian Age (19th Century).
5. His father, John Dickens, was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office.
6. His mother’s name was Elizabeth Dickens.
7. He was the second of eight children in his family.
8. Dickens's family moved to London when he was only three years old.
9. In 1824, his father was imprisoned in Marshalsea Prison due to heavy debts.
10. At age 12, Charles was forced to work at Warren's Blacking Warehouse.
11. He earned six shillings a week labeling bottles of shoe blacking.
12. This period of poverty and child labor deeply influenced his literary themes.
13. He attended the Wellington House Academy after his father’s release from prison.
14. By nature, as a child, Dickens was considered introverted.
15. He started his career as a law clerk in 1827.
16. He later became a shorthand reporter in the law courts.
17. Dickens worked as a political journalist, reporting on Parliamentary debates for The Morning Chronicle.
18. He briefly aspired to be an actor and joined the Garrick Club in 1832.
19. He missed a major acting audition at Covent Garden because of a cold.
20. He married Catherine Hogarth on April 2, 1836.
21. Catherine was the daughter of his colleague, George Hogarth.
22. The couple had ten children together.
23. Dickens and Catherine separated in 1858 after 22 years of marriage.
24. He fell in love with Maria Beadnell in his youth, but the relationship failed.
25. Dickens visited the USA and Canada for the first time in 1842.
26. He made a second visit to the United States in 1867.
27. He died on June 9, 1870, at the age of 58.
28. The cause of his death was a stroke (heart attack).
29. He died at his home, Gads Hill Place, in Higham, Kent.
30. He was buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.
31. He is buried next to the grave of Rudyard Kipling.
32. His last words were reportedly: "On the ground".

Literary Career and Style

33. Dickens used the pseudonym "Boz" for his early writings.
34. The name "Boz" originated from a family nickname, "Moses".
35. He is known as a Social Reformer who used his novels to highlight societal ills.
36. His works were primarily published in serial form (monthly episodes).
37. He was a master of characterization, creating over 350 characters in his first novel alone.
38. Dickens was a prolific journalist and edited magazines like Bentley's Miscellany.
39. He founded and edited the journals Household Words and All the Year Round.
40. He was the first editor of the "Daily News" in 1846.
41. Critics often call him a "Literary Genius" of the Victorian era.
42. His writing style blends realism, comedy, and social criticism.
43. Themes often include child labor, education reform, and the legal system.
44. He is famous for his "Dickensian" descriptions of Victorian London.

Major Works: Early Novels

45. His first published story was "A Dinner at Poplar Walk" (1833).
46. Sketches by Boz (1836) was his first major published collection.
47. Full title: Sketches by Boz, Illustrative of Every-day Life and Every-day People.
48. The Pickwick Papers (1837) is considered his first novel.
49. Its full title is The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.
50. The novel follows the adventures of Samuel Pickwick and his club members.
51. Sam Weller, the valet, is one of the most famous characters in Pickwick Papers.
52. The novel's illustrations were famously done by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne).
53. Oliver Twist (1838) was subtitled The Parish Boy's Progress.
54. It was serialized in Bentley's Miscellany.
55. The story features the orphan Oliver Twist, born in a workhouse.
56. Fagin is the leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets in London.
57. The Artful Dodger (Jack Dawkins) is Fagin’s most skillful pickpocket.
58. Bill Sikes is the brutal criminal who murders his companion, Nancy.
59. Mr. Bumble is the hypocritical beadle of the workhouse.
60. Nicholas Nickleby (1839) focuses on the protagonist's struggle to support his family.
61. It satirizes the cruel "Yorkshire Schools".
62. Wackford Squeers is the tyrannical headmaster of Dotheboys Hall.
63. Smike is the tragic, abused boy befriended by Nicholas.
64. Ralph Nickleby is the villainous uncle and antagonist.

Historical and Social Novels

65. The Old Curiosity Shop (1841) features the tragic death of Little Nell.
66. The villain Daniel Quilp is a grotesque and malicious money-lender.
67. Barnaby Rudge (1841) was Dickens's first historical novel.
68. It is set during the Gordon Riots of 1780.
69. A Christmas Carol (1843) is a famous novella featuring Ebenezer Scrooge.
70. It introduced the concept of the "Ghost Story of Christmas".
71. Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) is a Picaresque novel.
72. It features the hypocritical architect Seth Pecksniff.
73. The novel deals with themes of greed and selfishness.
74. Dombey and Son (1848) tells the story of a shipping firm owner and his children.
75. Paul Dombey is the son whose death changes the course of the story.
76. Hard Times (1854) is a satire on the industrial society and Utilitarianism.
77. It is set in the fictional industrial town of Coketown.
78. Thomas Gradgrind is the character who values "Facts" above all else.

Masterpieces: David Copperfield to A Tale of Two Cities

79. David Copperfield (1850) is Dickens's most autobiographical novel.
80. Dickens called this work his "favourite child" among all his books.
81. It is narrated in the first person.
82. Wilkins Micawber is a character based on Dickens's father, John Dickens.
83. Uriah Heep is the sycophantic and villainous antagonist.
84. James Steerforth is David’s charismatic but treacherous friend.
85. David’s first wife is Dora Spenlow, and his second is Agnes Wickfield.
86. Mr. Creakle is the harsh headmaster of Salem House school.
87. Peggotty is the faithful nurse and servant to the Copperfield family.
88. Bleak House (1853) satirizes the Court of Chancery and legal delays.
89. The novel features the never-ending legal case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce.
90. It is partially narrated by the protagonist, Esther Summerson.
91. Little Dorrit (1857) focuses on the Marshalsea Debtors' Prison.
92. Amy Dorrit (Little Dorrit) is the protagonist born in the prison.
93. It criticizes the government's Circumlocution Office.
94. A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is Dickens's second historical novel.
95. The "Two Cities" are London and Paris.
96. It is set before and during the French Revolution.
97. Sydney Carton is the lawyer who makes the ultimate sacrifice at the end.
98. Lucie Manette and Charles Darnay are the central romantic couple.
99. The novel begins with the famous line: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...".
100. Madame Defarge is the vengeful revolutionary who knits the names of the condemned.

Late Works and Characters

101. Great Expectations (1861) is another first-person narrative.
102. The protagonist is Pip (Philip Pirrip), an orphan.
103. Miss Havisham is the eccentric jilted bride living in Satis House.
104. Estella is the girl Pip loves, whom Miss Havisham trains to break men's hearts.
105. Abel Magwitch is the convict who becomes Pip's secret benefactor.
106. Joe Gargery is the kind-hearted blacksmith and Pip's brother-in-law.
107. Our Mutual Friend (1865) was his last completed novel.
108. The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870) is Dickens's unfinished novel.
109. It was intended to be a murder mystery.
110. Dickens died before completing the seventh installment of Edwin Drood.
111. John Jasper is the opium-addicted uncle and a primary character in Edwin Drood.

Famous Quotes and Critical Remarks

112. Dickens once stated about David Copperfield: "Of all my books, I like this the best".
113. Hugh Walker remarked that the pen which wrote David Copperfield was dipped in Dickens's own blood.
114. Queen Victoria praised The Old Curiosity Shop for being "lovely written".
115. Thomas Carlyle was a major influence on Dickens's social views.
116. George Bernard Shaw (G.B. Shaw) highly praised Great Expectations.
117. Dickens's works are often noted for their sentimentalism and pathos.
118. He was a champion of the oppressed and the poor.

Travelogues and Other Writings

119. American Notes for General Circulation (1842) is a travelogue of his first US trip.
120. Pictures from Italy (1846) is another travel work by Dickens.
121. A Child's History of England was written for children to learn history.
122. The Chimes (1844) is one of his "Christmas Books".
123. The Cricket on the Hearth (1845) is another popular Christmas novella.
124. The Haunted Man (1848) was his final Christmas book.
125. Dickens performed public readings of his works, which were immensely popular.

Key Supporting Characters for Exams

126. Barkis is the carrier in David Copperfield known for saying "Barkis is willin'".
127. Mr. Sowerberry is the undertaker in Oliver Twist.
128. Rose Maylie is Oliver’s kind benefactor and aunt.
129. Monks is Oliver's half-brother who seeks to ruin him.
130. Betsy Trotwood is David’s eccentric but kind great-aunt in David Copperfield.
131. Little Em'ly is a tragic character in David Copperfield seduced by Steerforth.
132. Jarndyce is the kind guardian of the wards in Bleak House.
133. Mr. Tulkinghorn is the scheming lawyer in Bleak House.
134. Stephen Blackpool is the tragic factory worker in Hard Times.
135. Josiah Bounderby is the boastful factory owner in Hard Times.
136. Charles Darnay is the French aristocrat who renounces his title in A Tale of Two Cities.
137. Dr. Manette is the physician imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years.
138. Biddy is the kind friend of Pip who eventually marries Joe Gargery.
139. Herbert Pocket is Pip's loyal friend in London.
140. Bentley Drummle is Pip’s rival and the cruel husband of Estella.

Miscellaneous Facts

1. Dickens’s first major biographer was his friend John Forster.
2. He was a major figure in the transition from Romanticism to Realism.
3. His father’s prison stay lasted about three months.
4. He had a strong interest in Scottish and 18th-century English literature.
5. Dickens advocated for International Copyright Law during his American tour.
6. He is known for creating grotesque yet memorable characters.
7. His works often highlight the hypocrisy of the upper class.
8. Dickens's childhood trauma of working in the blacking house was a secret for most of his life.
9. He died exactly five years after surviving a major train crash (the Staplehurst rail crash).
10. He remains one of the most widely read authors in the English language globally.