Charles Dickens

Scrooge

The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come: 'Scrooge' became the word for skinflint.

💡 Did you know? The miserly Ebenezer Scrooge from „A Christmas Carol“ shaped the modern image of Christmas: „Bah, humbug!“ became proverbial.

Oliver Twist

'Please, sir, I want some more': he later falls in with the pickpocket-master Fagin.

💡 Did you know? Oliver Twist's timid plea „Please, sir, I want some more“ became a symbol of the plight of the poor in Victorian England.

David Copperfield

'Like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.'

💡 Did you know? „David Copperfield“ was Dickens's declared favourite among his novels: strongly shaped by his own childhood.

in the blacking factory

He concealed the shame from almost everyone (but it fuelled his lifelong theme): the poor and the children.

💡 Did you know? While his father was in debtors' prison, the twelve-year-old Dickens had to paste labels on boot-blacking in a factory: a trauma that shaped all his work.

in instalments

All England followed breathlessly: he perfected cliffhanger dramaturgy long before television.

💡 Did you know? Dickens's novels appeared as serials in magazines: readers awaited each month's chapter like a TV series today.

the French Revolution

The two cities are London and Paris: one of the most printed books of all time.

💡 Did you know? „A Tale of Two Cities“, set against the French Revolution, is one of the best-selling novels of all time.

Miss Havisham

Jilted on her wedding morning, she stopped all the clocks: one of literature's most uncanny figures.

💡 Did you know? Miss Havisham from „Great Expectations“, living in the dark in her yellowed wedding dress since her jilting, is one of the eeriest figures in literature.

with readings

He performed the murder scene from 'Oliver Twist' so grippingly that listeners fainted: the toll cost him his health.

💡 Did you know? On reading tours Dickens filled whole halls like a pop star: his dramatic recitals brought tears even to his own eyes.

Edwin Drood

Who the murderer was meant to be, Dickens took to his grave: puzzle-lovers argue to this day.

💡 Did you know? His last novel „Edwin Drood“ remained an unsolved mystery at Dickens's death in 1870; the murderer is still unknown.

the poor and the children

As newspaper editor and social reformer he also fought practically for schools and poor relief.

💡 Did you know? Like no author before him, Dickens made the poor, the orphaned and the exploited his main characters: stirring the Victorian conscience.

Portsmouth

His birthplace is a museum today: he grew up in Chatham and London.

💡 Did you know? Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812, for his 200th birthday England issued a commemorative stamp.

Westminster Abbey

Thousands filed past the open grave for days: he died in 1870 at 58.

💡 Did you know? Against his wish for a modest funeral, Dickens was buried in Westminster Abbey: the nation insisted.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was the greatest English novelist of the Victorian age: famous for „Oliver Twist“ and „A Christmas Carol“.

💡 Did you know? His novels appeared in monthly instalments, which readers awaited like a TV series today.