Charles Dickens

• Dickens had a large impact on Victorian attitudes to the poor, to poverty and to welfare. He constantly emphasised 2 points:

  • the poor were people with hopes and desires like everyone else
  • the workhouse system was a mindless, cruel institution that dehumanised clients and carers alike
• Born in Portsmouth 1812, Dickens experienced poverty first hand. His family had been plunged into poverty when his father was thrown into the Marshalsea prison for debt to a baker. When he was 12, he was taken out of school and sent to work in the appalling conditions of a blacking factory where polish was made. After 3 years, he was able to return t school as his father's debt had been repaid, but he never forgot what he went through. They provided background to the early chapters of 'David Copperfield' (1849-50) and 'Great Expectations' (1861).
• His literacy career began with journalism, initially in 'The Mirror of Parliament' and 'The True Sun' before becoming a parliamentary journalist for the 'Morning Chronicle'.
• Publishing in short installments became him hallmark and because of his quality of writing, guaranteed success. The publication of his novels in weekly or monthly installments enabled his to gauge his readers' reactions and modify the plots accordingly, thus ensuring their popularity. By ending each instalment on a cliffhanger, he was able to hold his readers' attention.
• His novels weren't only popular with the middle classes, there is evidence that the illiterate poor gathered together to have episodes read to them.
• 'Oliver Twist' (1837-38) is Dicken's most damning indictment of the workhouse system, although other books mention it.

  • 'Bleak House' (1952) provides an insight into the plight of the poor as the crossing sweeper describes how he feels excluded from normal human life.
  • 'Little Dorrit' (1855-57) tells the story of Amy Dorrit, whose father is imprisoned for debt.
  • 'Our Mutual Friend' (1864-65) - Betty Higdens reacts with intensity to the idea of the workhouse.
• Dickens provided a voice for the poor which captured the interest of the middle classes. Although, he wasn't the only novelist to do this:

  • Elizabeth Gaskell - 'Mary Barton' (1848)
  • Benjamin Disaeli - 'Sybil, or The Two Nations' (1845)