Dickens's story of solitary miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taught the true meaning of Christmas by a series of ghostly visitors, has proved one of his most well-loved works. Ever since it was published in 1843 it has had an enduring influence on the way we think about the traditions of Christmas.
Author Biography
CHARLES DICKENS was born in Portsmouth on 7 February 1812, the second
of eight children. Dickens's childhood experiences were similar to
those depicted in David Copperfield. His father, who was a government
clerk, was imprisoned for debt and Dickens was briefly sent to work in
a blacking warehouse at the age of twelve. He received little formal
education, but taught himself shorthand and became a reporter of
parliamentary debates for the Morning Chronicle. He began to
publish sketches in various periodicals, which were subsequently
republished as Sketches by Boz. The Pickwick Papers was
published in 1836-7, after a slow start it became a publishing
phenomenon and Dickens's characters the centre of a popular cult.
Part of the secret of his success was the method of cheap serial publication
he adopted; thereafter, all Dickens's novels were first published in
serial form. He began Oliver Twist in 1837, followed by Nicholas
Nickleby (1838) and The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-41). After
finishing Barnaby Rudge (1841) Dickens set off for America; he
went full of enthusiasm for the young republic but, in spite of a
triumphant reception, he returned disillusioned. His experiences are
recorded in American Notes (1842). A Christmas Carol,
the first of the hugely popular Christmas Books, appeared in
1843, while Martin Chuzzlewit, which included a fictionalized
account of his American travels, was first published over the period
1843-4. During 1844-6 Dickens travelled abroad and he began Dombey
and Son while in Switzerland. This and David Copperfield
(1849-50) were more serious in theme and more carefully planned than
his early novels. In later works, such as Bleak House (1853)
and Little Dorrit (1857), Dickens's social criticism became
more radical and his comedy more savage. In 1850 Dickens started the
weekly periodical Household Words, succeeded in 1859 by All
the Year Round.
Dickens's health was failing during the 1860s and the physical strain
of the public readings which he began in 1858 hastened his decline,
although Our Mutual Friend (1865) retained some of his best
comedy. His last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, was never
completed and he died on 9 June 1870. Public grief at his death was
considerable and he was buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.
