Charles Dickens S England

From October 2009, Sky Arts will be screening Charles Dickens' England, presented and narrated by Derek Jacobi - a journey through the places, buildings, towns, cities and villages where Dickens lived or found inspiration. To coincide with the series, this 256 page book featuring 300 photographs and illustrations will be published, bringing together for the very first time all the of the most important places, towns and cities that were the inspiration for some of the most famous settings in literature.

A Child's History of England is a book by Charles Dickens. It first appeared in serial form in Household Words, running from January 25, 1851 to December 10, 1853. Dickens also published the work in book form in three volumes: the first volume on December 20, 1851; the second, December 25, 1852; and the third, December 24, 1853. Although the volumes were published in December, each was postdated the following year. Dickens dedicated the book to "My own dear children, whom I hope it may help, bye and bye, to read with interest larger and better books on the same subject". The history covered the period between 50 BC and 1689, ending with a chapter summarising events from then until the accession of Queen Victoria. A Child's History was included in the curricula of British School children well into the 20th century, with successive editions published from 1851 to World War II.

A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.

A “delightful reader’s companion” (The New York Times) to the great nineteenth-century British novels of Austen, Dickens, Trollope, the Brontës, and more, this lively guide clarifies the sometimes bizarre maze of rules and customs that governed life in Victorian England. For anyone who has ever wondered whether a duke outranked an earl, when to yell “Tally Ho!” at a fox hunt, or how one landed in “debtor’s prison,” this book serves as an indispensable historical and literary resource. Author Daniel Pool provides countless intriguing details (did you know that the “plums” in Christmas plum pudding were actually raisins?) on the Church of England, sex, Parliament, dinner parties, country house visiting, and a host of other aspects of nineteenth-century English life—both “upstairs” and “downstairs. An illuminating glossary gives at a glance the meaning and significance of terms ranging from “ague” to “wainscoting,” the specifics of the currency system, and a lively host of other details and curiosities of the day.

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,5, University of Hamburg (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik), 16 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: In "Oliver Twist", Dickens presents the everyday existence of the lowest members of English society and realistically portrays the horrible conditions of the nineteenth century workhouses. Hence, in the story of Oliver Twist, Dickens uses past experiences from his childhood and targets the Poor Law of 1834 which renewed the importance of the workhouse as a means of relief for the poor. In fact, Dickens' age was a period of industrial development marked by the rise of the middle class. In the elections brought about by the accession of William IV in 1830, the Tories lost control of the government. Assumption of power by the Whigs opened the way to an era of accelerated progress. In this time period, children worked just as much, if not more, than some of the adults. After 1833, an increased amount of legislation was enacted to control the hours of labour and working conditions for children and women in manufacturing plants. The Poor Law of 1834 wanted to make the workhouse more of a deterrent to idleness as it was believed that people were poor because they were lazy and needed to be punished. So people in workhouses were deliberately treated harshly and the workhouses were similar to prisons. In the following, it will be analyzed how Dickens attacks the defects of existing institutions in his novel "Oliver Twist". Hence, it will be shown how Dickens creates a fictive world that was a mirror in which the truths of the real world were reflected. However, firstly, it is necessary to take a closer look at the historical background. Thus, the attitude of Victorian society towards the poor comes into view and with it the central issues of child labour, Poor Laws and workhouse conditions. Secondly, when regarding the central theme of

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This premium quality unabridged large print edition features a large 7.44"x9.69" page size and is printed on heavyweight 60# bright white paper with a fully laminated cover featuring an original full color design. Page headers and modern design and page layout exemplify the attention to detail given this collector-quality volume. Also included is an original biography of Charles Dickens, discussing the life, work, and lasting influence of this literary titan. Widely regarded as Dickens' finest work and the quintessential Victorian coming-of-age tale, Great Expectations was originally published in serial form between December 1860 and August 1861. In response to contemporary literary criticism asserting that the story was "too sad", Dickens later rewrote the ending. In keeping with long-standing tradition, this volume follows the 1874 edition, published as a full-length novel with the modified ending. This is by far the most widely read and best-known edition, and the version which has become a timeless classic. The tale follows the life of an orphan, "Pip," from his childhood in the vicinity of the Kentish marshes to London and back again. Pip crosses paths with Abel Magwitch, an escaped convict and one of Dickens' most noteworthy characters, the well-off but unbalanced Miss Havisham, still wearing the wedding dress in which she was abandoned on her wedding day, and her beautiful adopted daughter Estella. Pip has a loyal friend in Joe, the brother-in-law who takes him on as an apprentice, where he is working when, Mr. Jaggers, the lawyer, informs him that he is to receive a large sum from an anonymous benefactor and must immediately travel to London. As the real relationships and identities of the characters are revealed over the course of the story, Pip discovers that things are sometimes not at all what they appear, and Dickens delves into themes of love, loyalty, honesty and revenge. Born in Portsmouth England on February 7, 1812, Charles Dickens enjoyed a comfortable childhood until his father lost his post at the Navy Pay Office, ultimately landing in debtors' prison. Young Charles endured an horrific experience pasting labels on jars of bootblack in a rat-infested slum and living in an attic. He would later teach himself shorthand and find work as a newspaper writer, covering politics and then the courts. These experiences, with his near-photographic memory, would provide him with material for the colorful characters and vivid depictions of life in England which characterized his work for decades. The publication of The Pickwick Papers in 1836, the world's first true literary phenomenon, brought Dickens success, and within a few years he was an international celebrity. Ultimately he would become the foremost novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most widely read writers in history. His books have never gone out of print, have been turned into films and plays, and are still widely read today. Known for his compelling storylines and unforgettable characters, Dickens' stories also served as vehicles for social commentary, often harshly critical of class stratification and public institutions but without the strident or didactic tone that might have alienated readers. In particular, and contrary to the prevailing views of the time, Dickens viewed the poor as wretched not because of their own weaknesses and moral failures but because of their helplessness before society's attitudes and institutions. Yet Dickens managed, even when dealing with grim and serious subject-matter, to maintain a humorous element, and satire and caricature fill the pages of his works. Dickens died on June 9, 1870, following a stroke. Given the body of work he left behind, it is striking to note that Charles Dickens was just 58 years old at his death.