Charles Dickens, London, 1812 to 1870.0:15
Little did Charles Dickens know when he published his first novel in 1836 that people would still be enjoying his novels, watching new TV and film adaptations of his works, going to exhibitions about his life, and even visiting a0:31
theme park called Dickens World over 200 years after his birth.0:47
His vivid descriptions of life in 19th-century London are unforgettable.0:52
He created some of English literature's most well-known characters, including Oliver Twist, Ebenezer Scrooge, David Copperfield, and Pip.0:58
But some have said that the greatest of all the characters he wrote about was London itself.1:08
Dickens spent hours wandering the grimy streets of London, drawing inspiration for his writing from the sights, smells, and sounds around him.1:14
Britain in the 19th century was experiencing the Industrial Revolution, a period of great growth.1:24
In 1800, the city's population was around 1 million, but by 1880 it had grown to about 4.5 million.1:31
Expansion made London the world's centre of trade, but the price was unbelievable crowding, crime, and filth.1:41
Add to this the smoke from thousands of chimneys, and it's easy to grasp that London wasn't a pretty sight.1:49
Dickens was interested in all aspects of life in London, but above all, poverty.1:56
Maybe this was partly because of his personal experience of it.2:02
At the age of 12, Dickens' father was sent to a debtor's prison, and young Charles was sent to work in a shoe polish factory.2:06
In Oliver Twist, He exposed the cruel conditions in workhouses, the only places where the poor could go to get help.2:14
He also wrote about child labour in David Copperfield, and the gap between the rich and the poor in Bleak House.2:22
Towards the end of the century, conditions for the poor in London began to improve through education, technology, and social reform, and thanks to Dickens constantly raising awareness of social injustice in his very popular novels.2:30
Dickens wrote 35 novels before his death in 1870.2:46
In February 2012, as part of the 200-year birthday celebration for Dickens, Prince Charles called him 'one of the greatest writers of the English language, who used his creative genius to campaign passionately for social justice.'2:50
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