Charles Dickens Life

							                        Charles Dickens Life




When a good reader reads a story he wants to know the author’s purpose for writing the story. Why did
he write this story at this time? Charles Dickens wrote about the lives of poor people in London in the
Victorian Age. It was called this because Victoria was the Queen. The following links will help you
understand Charles Dickens and his stories better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era

   1. When was the Victorian Era in England? ____________________



   2.   When and Where was Charles Dickens born ?
        http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/dickensbio2.html

   Charles Dickens was born in _________________________________ on
   __________________________

   3. Where did Dickens’ father, John Dickens, work?



John Dickens lost his money and the family moved to a poor section of London.

Below is picture of what a London slum would look like

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victorian_Bishopgate.jpg

Watch the following videos and then answer the following questions about Dickens’ childhood.

   1. What happened to John Dickens and his family? Where did they have to go live?



   2. What happened to Charles Dickens when he was 12 or 13?
   3. How do you think this affected his stories?




http://www.biography.com/people/charles-dickens-9274087/videos/charles-dickens-a-
dickensian-childhood-2080041260

ignore the commercial at the first

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blyYxpNbgeU



Glossary of terms

           a. Context – what is happening around you, your setting

           b. Author’s purpose – why did the author write this story at this time.

           c. Careless – not being careful

           d. Careless with money - spend more $$ than you have, don’t pay attention to your

                money; wasting money

           e. Arrested – taken by the police to jail

           f.   Debt – money you owe someone

           g. Debtor’s prison – jail for people who could not pay their bills

           h. Creditors – people you owe money to

           i.   Factory –place where they make things