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| | '''Charles Dickens''' (1812 - 1870) was an English novelist and reformist writer felt by some to be second only to [[Shakespeare]] in English literature. He wrote many well-known books (see [[Dickens novels]]), including 3 of the top 10 greatest [[British]] [[novel]]s ever as ranked by the [[BBC]].<ref>https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20151204-the-25-greatest-british-novels</ref> | | '''Charles Dickens''' (1812 - 1870) was an English novelist and reformist writer felt by some to be second only to [[Shakespeare]] in English literature. He wrote many well-known books (see [[Dickens novels]]), including 3 of the top 10 greatest [[British]] [[novel]]s ever as ranked by the [[BBC]].<ref>https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20151204-the-25-greatest-british-novels</ref> |
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| − | Dickens was devoutly [[Christian]] and wrote ''The Life of Our Lord'' for children, but felt he had to keep his [[faith]] and book private by prohibiting the publication of this work until the last of his children ultimately passed away,<ref>https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/faith-behind-the-famous-charles-dickens</ref> Dickens' more famous works include: | + | Dickens was devoutly [[Christian]] and wrote ''The Life of Our Lord'' for children, but felt he had to keep his [[faith]] and book private by prohibiting the publication of this work until the last of his children ultimately passed away,<ref name="CH">https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/faith-behind-the-famous-charles-dickens</ref> Dickens wrote in his last will and testament, dated May 12, 1869: “I commit my soul to the mercy of God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and I exhort my dear children humbly to try to guide themselves by the teaching of the New Testament in its broad spirit, and to put no faith in any man’s narrow construction of its letter here or there.”<ref name="CH"/> |
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| | + | Dickens' more famous works include: |
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| | *''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' | | *''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' |
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| | His father was incarcerated in [[Debtor's prison]] in 1824, during which Charles at age only 12 had to do hard manual labor at a blacking factory to support the family. This influenced how he portrayed Pip in ''[[Great Expectations]]''.<ref>https://greatexpectationscommunity.weebly.com/dickens-and-debtors-prison.html</ref> | | His father was incarcerated in [[Debtor's prison]] in 1824, during which Charles at age only 12 had to do hard manual labor at a blacking factory to support the family. This influenced how he portrayed Pip in ''[[Great Expectations]]''.<ref>https://greatexpectationscommunity.weebly.com/dickens-and-debtors-prison.html</ref> |
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| − | Dickens was "suspicious of organized religion,"<ref>https://hollowverse.com/charles-dickens/</ref> perhaps because he had a secret [[adulterous]] affair with an 18-year-old actress which lasted for many years.<ref>https://www.biography.com/news/charles-dickens-mistress-nelly-ternan</ref> Dickens mentioned "[[heaven]]" often in his writing, but rarely "[[hell]]". | + | Dickens was "suspicious of organized religion,"<ref>https://hollowverse.com/charles-dickens/</ref> perhaps because he had a secret [[adulterous]] affair with an 18-year-old actress which lasted for many years.<ref>https://www.biography.com/news/charles-dickens-mistress-nelly-ternan</ref> Dickens mentioned "[[heaven]]" often in his writing, but rarely "[[hell]]". But Dickens donated generously to building a local church, St. John's, which he attended with his family. |
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| | == Childhood == | | == Childhood == |