Adirondack For Kids: Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol Trivia

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By Diane Chase


Did you know? Charles Dickens

• Charles Dickens was born in 1812
• At 12 he was forced to leave school and work in a factory to help get his family out of debt.
• He is considered a Victorian author because he wrote during the Victorian era
• He was the most popular writer of his time
• Dickens began his writing career as a journalist
• He wrote plays, journals, travel books, and weekly periodical called Household Words and All Year Round as well as numerous novels
• He also traveled to the United States to speak against slavery
• He had ten children with his wife, Catherine
• Dickens wrote five Christmas books but A Christmas Carol is the most popular.
• He died before his last book, The Mystery of Edwin Drood was completed
• He used his writing to highlight poor working conditions and the atrocities of child labor

• The characters from his books were inspired by real people from his life
Like the character Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield, Dickens's father was also imprisoned for bad debt.
Dickens' sister-in-law Mary inspired the characters of Rose Maylie in Oliver Twist, and Agnes Wickfield in David Copperfield.


What is the Victorian era?
The time period during which Queen Victoria was the ruler of the United Kingdom, from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901


Websites: 
There is a museum in his former house in London.
Here is a link to the complete short story, A Christmas Carol.
This site has a map highlighting all the Dickens's London

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