Charles Culliford Boz Dickens (6 January 1837 – 20 July 1896) was the first child of the English novelist
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
and his wife
Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
.
A failed businessman, he became the editor of his father's magazine ''
All the Year Round'', and a writer of dictionaries. He is now most remembered for his two 1879 books, ''Dickens's Dictionary of London'' and ''Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames''.
Life and career
Charles Dickens Jr. was born at
Furnival's Inn
Furnival's Inn was an Inn of Chancery which formerly stood on the site of the present Holborn Bars building (the former Prudential Assurance Company building) in Holborn, London, England.
History
Furnival's Inn was founded about 1383 when Wil ...
in
Holborn
Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.
The area has its roots ...
, London, the first child of Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine Hogarth.
He was called "Charley" by family and friends. In 1847, aged ten, he entered the junior department of
King's College, London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
.
He went to
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
, and visited
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
in 1853 to study German.
In 1855, aged 18, he entered
Barings Bank
Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's List of oldest banks in continuous operation, oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 ...
.
In 1858, after his parents' separation, his father agreed he should live with his mother.
As a young man, Dickens showed skills that could have led to a career in journalism but his father encouraged him to go into business. With ambitions to become a tea merchant, he visited China, Hong Kong and Japan in 1860.
In 1861, he married Elisabeth Matilda Moule Evans, daughter of
Frederick Mullett Evans
Frederick Mullett Evans (1803–1870) was an English printer and publisher. He is known for his work as a partner from 1830 in Bradbury & Evans, who printed the works of a number of major novelists, as well as leading periodicals.
Life
He was the ...
, his father's former publisher.
They had eight children:
*
Mary Angela (1862–1948)
*Ethel Kate (1864–1936)
*Charles Walter (1865–1923)
*Sydney Margaret (1866–1955)
*Dorothy Gertrude (1868–1923)
*Beatrice (1869–1937)
*Cecil Mary (1871–1952)
*Evelyn Bessie (1873–1924)
In 1866 he was appointed as the first Honorary Secretary of the
Metropolitan Regatta
The Metropolitan Regatta is an international rowing regatta. It takes place on Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs, and universities from around the United K ...
. In 1868, after the failure of his printing business, and bankruptcy, he was hired by his father to work at ''
All the Year Round'' and was appointed sub-editor the following year.
In 1870, after his father's death, Dickens Jr. inherited the magazine and became its editor. At this time he also bought at auction
Gads Hill Place
Gads Hill Place in Higham, Kent, sometimes spelt Gadshill Place and Gad's Hill Place, was the country home of Charles Dickens, the most successful British author of the Victorian era. Today the building is the independent Gad's Hill School.
...
, his father's
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
home, but he was forced to give it up in 1879.
In 1879 he published (jointly with his father-in-law) the first editions of his two main dictionaries, ''Dickens's Dictionary of London'' and ''Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames''.
In 1882 his dictionaries were picked up by
Macmillan & Co. who also released his third dictionary, ''Dickens's Dictionary of Paris'', delayed by verifications explained in its introduction.
Charles Dickens died of heart disease, at his home in
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
, London, on 20 July 1896, aged 59. He was buried at
Old Mortlake Burial Ground
Old Mortlake Burial Ground, also known as Old Mortlake Cemetery, is a cemetery in Mortlake in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, at Avenue Gardens, London SW14 8BP. Established in 1854, and enlarged in 1877, it is now managed by Richmon ...
on 23 July 1896.
Legacy
Dickens's estate was worth £17 5s. 3d at his death,
and his widow was granted a government pension of £100 per year. After her death in 1909 yearly
civil list
A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom and its former colonies of Canada, India, New Zeal ...
pensions of £25 were granted to Mary Angela, Dorothy Gertrude, Cecil Mary and Evelyn Bessie after "consideration of their straitened circumstances". In 1910 their situation was so difficult that Ethel Dickens wrote to the
Lord Chief Justice
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
Richard Alverstone to seek assistance.
In the letter, which was also published in ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', she explained that her sisters were "barely making a living" as secretaries and babysitters and that her doctor told her to take six months' rest due to overwork.
As the centenary of their grandfather's birth approached, the reduced circumstances of Charles Jr.'s daughters led to a public fundraising appeal. On 7 January 1912 a gala performance in which "leading actors and actresses" appeared as Dickens's characters at the
London Coliseum
The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...
raised £2500, while a separate appeal by ''The Daily Telegraph'' added an additional £3882. By the close of the fund in March 1912 it held £12,000, which was to provide £150 per year to each of the daughters.
Author
Lucinda Hawksley
Lucinda Hawksley (born 17 November 1977) is an English biographer, author, lecturer, and travel writer.
Career
Hawksley studied literature and education before starting her career as a book editor. She took a Master of Arts in literature and ...
, a descendant of the elder Charles Dickens, has written that "the girls' begging letter" caused embarrassment for their uncle, London barrister
Henry Fielding Dickens
Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, KC (16 January 1849 – 21 December 1933), was the eighth of ten children born to English author Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. The most successful of all of Dickens's children, he was a barrister, a KC and ...
,
while the daughters of another uncle,
Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens
Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens (28 October 1845 – 2 January 1912) was an English lecturer. The sixth child and fourth son of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine, Dickens made lecture tours in Australia, Europe, and the ...
, gave an interview to a newspaper in Australia, where they had been raised, to make clear that they were not seeking any part of the funds.
Dickens's biographer
Claire Tomalin
Claire Tomalin (née Delavenay; born 20 June 1933) is an English journalist and biographer, known for her biographies of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft.
Early life
Tomalin was born Claire Del ...
said Charles Walter, only son of Dickens Jr., had been disowned by the family for marrying Ella Dare, a barmaid.
Sydney Margaret went on to marry architect
Thomas Bostock Whinney
Thomas Bostock Whinney (1860 – 7 May 1926) FRIBA was an English architect based in London who became the chief architect of the Midland Bank.
History
He was born in 1860, the son of Frederick Whinney of Regent's Park Road, London. He was ed ...
. Ethel died in 1936 of an overdose of
phenobarbital
Phenobarbital, also known as phenobarbitone or phenobarb, sold under the brand name Luminal among others, is a medication of the barbiturate type. It is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of certain types of ep ...
at her flat in
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area.
Chelsea histori ...
.
Bibliography
Dickens's publications include:
*1879 – ''The life of Charles James Mathews, chiefly autobiographical, with selections from his correspondence and speeches''.
*1879 – ''Dickens's Dictionary of London: An Unconventional Handbook''.
*1879 – ''Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames, from its source to the Nore''.
*1881 – ''Dickens's Dictionary of Days''.
*1882 – ''Dickens's Dictionary of Paris: An Unconventional Handbook''.
*1884 – ''A Dictionary of the University of Cambridge''.
*1884 – ''A Dictionary of the University of Oxford''.
He also wrote the introductions to many posthumous reprints of his father's books, such as ''
Barnaby Rudge
''Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty'' (commonly known as ''Barnaby Rudge'') is a historical novel by British novelist Charles Dickens. ''Barnaby Rudge'' was one of two novels (the other was ''The Old Curiosity Shop'') that Dickens publ ...
'', ''
Oliver Twist
''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...
'', ''
Bleak House
''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...
'', and ''
Little Dorrit
''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Cl ...
'', providing biographical and bibliographical insights. His ''Reminiscences of My Father'' was published posthumously in 1934.
''Dickens's Dictionary of London''
''Dickens's Dictionary of London: An Unconventional Handbook'' is the main book of Charles Dickens Jr.
It was first published in London in 1879, by "Charles Dickens and Evans" (Dickens Jr. and his father-in-law, publisher Frederick Evans).
The book was then updated and reprinted every year until the author's death, from 1880 (second year) to the final 1896–1897 edition (eighteenth year). His dictionaries had been picked up in 1882 by
Macmillan & Co. who printed them until 1889, after which it was again published by Dickens and Evans through J. Smith.
''Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames''
''Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames, From Oxford to the Nore: An Unconventional Handbook'' is the second book of Charles Dickens Jr. The "1880" edition was first published in London in 1879, by "Charles Dickens and Evans" (Dickens Jr. and his father-in-law, publisher Frederick Evans). The next 1880 edition and further were slightly retitled to ''Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames, From Its Source to the Nore: An Unconventional Handbook''.
The book was then updated and reprinted every year until the author's death, from 1880 to the final 1896 edition. His dictionaries had been picked up in 1882 by
Macmillan & Co. who printed them until 1889, after which it was again published by Dickens and Evans through J. Smith.
DICKEN WITHOUT S, FIND MORE RESULTS WITH TYPOS TOO-->%27s+Dictionary+of+the+Thames&fq=&se=yr&sd=asc&qt=sort_yr_asc Worldcat.org, editions of ''Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames''
(search with typo "Dicken" finds more results, both with and without typo)
See also
*Dickens family
The Dickens family are the descendants of John Dickens, the father of the English novelist Charles Dickens. John Dickens was a clerk in the Royal Navy Pay Office and had eight children from his marriage to Elizabeth Barrow. Their second child and ...
References
External links
''Dickens's Dictionary of London: An Unconventional Handbook'' (1882)
at the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
''Dickens's Dictionary of London: An Unconventional Handbook'' (1884)
at the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
''Dickens's Dictionary of Paris: An Unconventional Handbook'' (1882)
at the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
''Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames, from its source to the Nore'' (1885)
at the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
''A Dictionary of the University of Oxford'' (1885)
at the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
Dickens Jr's nomination paper for King's College
completed by Charles Dickens Sr. and signed by Angela Burdett-Coutts
Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906), born Angela Georgina Burdett, was a British philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and Sophia, formerly Coutts, daughte ...
– at Victorian Web
The Victorian Web is a hypertext project derived from hypermedia environments, Intermedia and Storyspace, that anticipated the World Wide Web. Initially created between 1988 and 1990 with 1,500 documents, it grew to 50,000 in the 21st century. In c ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickens, Charles Jr.
19th-century English writers
English people of Scottish descent
People educated at King's College School, London
People educated at Eton College
1837 births
1896 deaths
Charles Dickens
Writers from London