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 Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

and his wife

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, Dickens made lecture tours in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on his father's life and work.

Early life

Nicknamed "Sampson Brass" and "Skittles" by his father, Alfred Dickens was born at 1 Devonshire Terrace, near

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

, and was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

at the church of St. Mary Marylebone in London on 21 April 1846. He was named after his godfathers,

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

and Alfred, Comte d'Orsay. Because of this choice of godfathers Alfred's christening became a popular topic among literary people. Father Prout wrote:

Edward Fitzgerald wrote to his friend Edward Barton that Tennyson and Count D'Orsay had stood as godparents to one of Dickens's children, and that the unfortunate child had been named 'Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson', which he believed proved that 'Dickens was a

snob ''Snob'' is a pejorative term for a person who feels superior due to their social class, education level, or social status in general;De Botton, A. (2004), ''Status Anxiety''. London: Hamish Hamilton it is sometimes used especially when they pr ...

... For what is Snobbishness and Cockneyism, but all such pretensions and parade? It is one thing to worship heroes and another to lick their spittle.'

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

wrote to Elizabeth Barrett, who shortly after married him in the same church in which Alfred Dickens had been baptized, wondering if she knows why

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

has been dining with Dickens to meet celebrities.

'What do you suppose caused all the dining and repining? He has been sponsor to Dickens's child ''in company with Count D'Orsay'' and accordingly the ''novus homo'' glories in the praenomia Alfred d'Orsay Tennyson Dickens ... You observe Alfred is common to both the godfather and the devil-father ... When you remember what the form of sponsorship is, to what it pledges you in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
– and then remember that Mr. Dickens is an enlightened Unitarian – you will get a curious notion of the man, I fancy.'

Alfred Dickens was educated at Brackenbury's Military School at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

and at Mr Gibson's boarding school in

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, with his brothers Henry and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Alfred Dickens considered a career in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, in medicine, and in business, but after failing the entrance examination into the Army, instead he spent two years working in a China House in London.'The Family Tree of Charles Dickens' by Mark Charles Dickens Published by the

Charles Dickens Museum The Charles Dickens Museum is an author's house museum at 48 Doughty Street in King's Cross, London, King's Cross, in the London Borough of Camden. It occupies a typical Georgian architecture, Georgian terraced house which was Charles Dickens, ...

(2005) He shared his father's love for fashionable clothing, and ran up bills, in his father's name, at various

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

s. Persuaded by his father, he migrated to Australia in June 1865 aged 19, leaving behind many unpaid bills. His father came to see him off at

Paddington Station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

sent him with some money and letters of introduction, hoping that he would make a career there and that he would cease to be a financial drain upon his father. According to various letters, Charles Dickens sent his son to Australia "to seek his fortune"; although he saw Alfred as "steady and working, though not in the least brilliant," he had been anxious to get him "far away from home," being concerned about the negative influence of his brothers and the "idleness" of London. He was followed shortly afterwards by his younger brother Edward Dickens. Alfred Dickens remained in Australia for 45 years.

Australia

Dickens settled in Australia quickly, becoming manager of Corona station on the border of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. He remained in Australia for 45 years. Charles Dickens having died in 1870, Alfred purchased Wangagong station, near

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

with his share of his father's estate. In 1874 he moved to

Hamilton, Victoria Hamilton is a city in south-western Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia, at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway. The Hamilton Highway connects it to Geelong. Hamilton is in the Australian House of Representatives, ...

, to take up a position as a station agent.''The Sydney Morning Herald'' 24 December 2002
/ref> Dickens married Augusta Jessie Devlin (1849–1878), known as 'The Belle of Melbourne", in a fashionable wedding in

Toorak, Victoria Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington Local government areas of Victoria, ...

, with whom he had two daughters, Kathleen Mary (1874 – 1951) and Violet Georgina (1875 – 1952). Jessie Dickens died from her injuries on 14 December 1878 after having been thrown out of her carriage when a pony bolted. Alfred Dickens then moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, where he was persuaded by his younger brother Edward Dickens to start up their own stock and station agency, 'EBL Dickens and Partners'.

Later years

In Melbourne on 22 June 1888, Dickens married again, his new wife, Emily Riley (1863–1913), being 17 years his junior. The marriage was not a happy one, and there were no children. Severely hit financially when depression hit Victoria in the early 1890s, Alfred began to tour Australia giving lectures about his father's life and work. From 1910 he gave the lectures in

and

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in that year returning to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

for the first time since 1865. He became the Vice President of the Dickens Fellowship. While touring America in 1912 as a guest of honour during the Dickens Centennial celebrations, Dickens was taken ill at noon while strolling in the lobby of his hotel, the Astor Hotel in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Taking to his bed, he slept for a while and then awoke and dictated a letter to one of his daughters in Australia explaining that his sudden illness had required him to cancel one of his speaking engagements. He died at 5:15 p.m. in his suite at the Astor Hotel, reportedly of acute indigestion after a few hours illness. Alfred-Dickens-grave1

He was buried in

Trinity Church Cemetery The parish of Trinity Church (Manhattan), Trinity Church has three separate cemetery, burial grounds associated with it in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The first, Trinity Churchyard, is located in Lower Manhattan at 74 Trinity Place, n ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

on 14 April 1912 in a plot donated by the Trinity Corporation after his sister, Kate Perugini, had been contacted in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

concerning the funeral arrangements. It had originally been thought that his body would be returned to England for burial. The funeral was attended by members of the American Dickens League, the Dickens Centenary Committee and other groups. In 1935 a permanent headstone of Barre, Vermont, granite was placed at the grave, the funds for which were collected by the children of the Church School of the Chapel of the Intercession. The lettering on the headstone is believed to be the same as that on

's grave in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

.Dickens's grave on the Audubon Park website
/ref> His brother, Henry Fielding Dickens, wrote of him, "He had been quite a stranger to the family from the time he went to Australia. He left two daughters, who came over to this country some years ago, and remain great favourites with all of us." His name appears with those of his nine siblings on the monument next to his mother's grave in

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

References

External links

Dickens
in

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

24 December 2002, Retrieved on 2008-10-31
Dickens on Charles Dickens Biography, Life, Books and his work on Literature
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 30 September 1911

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickens, Alfred Dorsay Tennyson 1845 births 1912 deaths People from the London Borough of Camden Charles Dickens British lecturers Burials at Trinity Church Cemetery Dickens family

Early life

Australia

Later years

See also

References

External links