Charles Dickens, Spirit Of Christmas

In these dates that are so close to Christmas, it's unavoidable to watch some movie or TV series based on a novel by Charles Dickens. His tenderness, his sensibility, and his analysis of the human essence make him an irresistible author. Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812, in a modest family with many children (he had 9 brothers), and as in many of his books, with many economical problems. His father was an alcoholic, very fond to gambling, and the quantity of debts accumulated joined with so many mouths to feed brought Charles Dickens, his mother and his brothers to suffer big economical difficulties. Since he was a very little child he had to work to help in his home, in a shoe factory. He couldn't go to school since he was nine, but his desire to better himself and his love for knowledge made him become a brilliant self-taught mind. When he was 15, he worked as a messenger for a law firm. He rose to the post if secretary of one of the lawyers of the firm, and later he became journalist of the Parliament, writing descriptions of the happenings. He signed his works with the pseudonym of "Boz". But he always wanted to write novels. He started to work as a writer publishing chapters of his novels, and the public appreciated them. He did a series of works that were illustrated by great artists like George Cruikshank, Robert Seymour, or H.K. Browne (Phiz). These works were very praised and influential in his times. Charles Dickens never forgot his modest origins. His compromised attitude was always reflected both in his works as in his social life, becoming the administrator of some charity organizations, and in his fight for civil rights, and against slavery. Another one of his social battles was to fight to reach an international agreement about intellectual property rights for authors and artists. In 1843, he published "A Christmas Carol", that quickly became a classic tale for children in these Christmas date. A classic that has reached our days. For some time, he directed a theater company, and his novels were successfully spread in England and the United States, and through the whole world. He died in 1870, leaving us literary jewels like "Oliver Twist", "David Copperfield", "A Christmas Carol", "Dombey and Son"... Charles Dickens was a writer that never forgot the hard beginnings of his life, and denounced the human miseries with the wish to show human shortcomings to his readers, and make them be better. -Emma Alvarez- © 2008 by Emma Alvarez. Link to this post without copying the text. Some Related Posts: If you liked this post, subscribe to Emma Alvarez Site or give yourself a gift Stumble it! Add me to your del.icio.us network