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Charles Dickens by Ahmad Jasly Johan (193448)




The Most Celebrated Novelist of the Victorian Era

Born on Feburary 7th, 1812 in Portsmouth, the second child of John and Elizabeth Dickens. He was from a large family with 7 siblings. The Dickens family had difficulties financially considering having a large family to support thus they were not quite well off. Charles Dickens father unfortunately were arrested and sent to prison due to failure of paying a debt. His family and including himself had to work in a factory to survive but luckily it was only for a year as John Dickens were released from prison.
            In the tender age of 15, Charles Dickens were enrolled  at Wellington House Academy as a student and later secured a position with the help of his mother’s connection,  to work as a clerk at a law firm. After a short while he decided that working as a clerk is too tedious. He took on a few other jobs later on which didn’t last very long as it does not appeal to him that much. He became a lawyer, a court stenographer, a reporter, and even considered of becoming an actor. After the changes in career, in 1836 he finally wrote his first work, The Pickwick Papers which marks the beginning of his journey as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.

Novels by Charles Dickens

            Charled Dickens was a prolific writer and wrote plenty of novels and novellas and some of his most well known works are The Adventures of Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, Little Dorrit, David Copperfield, Pickwick Papers, Hard Times, Our Mutual Friend, Dombey And Son, and Christmas Carol.
            Out of all the great works by Charles Dickens, unsurprisingly I would agree that three of his most famous and best works would be The Adventures of Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and Bleak House. Personally, I would favour to choose Bleak House as the best novel of Charles Dickens as he crammed every knowledge that he knew about Victorian London. By reading this book, you can’t help but to imagine yourself to be living in the Victorian era period that Charles Dickens had lived, as if a time travel back to the past. Truly one of the remarkable novel that was ever written for the literary canon. Showcasing the dark realities of the British legal system, forbidden love, memorable characters, and the depiction of London itself, this novel is a joy to read.

Influence and Legacy

            Charles Dickens is undisputedly the best among his contemporaries in the golden age of the British Empire, the Victorian era where the empire expanded the furthest during those times across the globe. Influencing aspiring writers and even the culture of England, dedicated museums, statues, movies adaptations and many more, Charles Dickens definitely was and still a significant part of the history of English literature, and the United Kingdom. The influence of his novels expanded throughout the world and still being read even after more than a century after the novels were published.

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