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Charles Dickens : The Greatest Author Of His Time Essay

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Rowan Mitschke
AP English 4
Mrs. Phyllis Simmonds
7 March 2016
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens is often regarded as the greatest author of his time. His works are notorious for engaging the popular imagination with its comic elements, memorable characters, and highly detailed rendering of life in Victorian England. Although the 20th century saw a dismissal of his works as simplistic and vulgar by critics, Dickens never lost favor with the popular audience.
Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England on February 7, 1812 to John Dickens and Elizabeth Barrow Dickens. Charles’ father, John, was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, a job which moved the family often. In 1817, they moved to the countryside near a seaport town in Kent, England. Here the family prospered in happiness and economic stability. In 1822, however, the family returned to England and Charles’ future prospects began to grow dimmer and dimmer. The family struggled financially and Charles would not be able to continue his education. Early in February of 1824, in desperation, Charles was sent, at the age of 12, to work at Warren’s Blacking, a shoe polish company. This proved not to be enough to save the family from financial ruin and on February 20, John Dickens was arrested for debt and imprisoned with his wife and three youngest children in the Marshalsea Prison. Meanwhile, Dickens became increasingly hopeless as he continued his job at the blacking factory. In his autobiography, he describes the humiliation

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