Charles Dickens: Faith, Angels and the Poor

Keith Hooper

Description

"Deeply respecting, and bowing down before the character of Our Saviour, you cannot go very wrong, and will always preserve at heart a true spirit of veneration and humility." Charles Dickens Charles Dickens was a great storyteller; he possessed the unique ability of documenting the realities of life for both his contemporaries and future generations. A journalist, commentator, historian, and the social conscience of a nation, his influence and reach extended far beyond that normally associated with a novelist. Although the subject of numerous books, none have sought to detail how the writer tried through his work to change the hearts of his readers. In this authoritative and highly readable new biography, Keith Hooper explores the nature and development of Dickens's faith, and the means by which it was expressed. This excellent study of Dickens's beliefs and struggles with the contemporary church gives new and valuable insight into his literary work.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Idioma inglés
• English
• Anglais

Informations

• Publié par: Lion Hudson
• Date de parution: 22 septembre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780745968520
• Langue: English

Extrait

The complexity of Dickens s life and character never diminished his Christian charity and advocacy of the poor. Hooper s new biography reveals a different Dickens, one who wrote expressly for his children The Life of our Lord. At the heart of this is a man who loved Jesus, acknowledging that there was none so good, so kind, so gentle, and so sorry for people who did wrong. Hooper gives us a Dickens who, in the midst of his complex and divided life struggled to translate his faith into practical social good.
REVD CANON PROFESSOR DAVID JASPER,
Professor of Literature and Theology,
University of Glasgow

This book is dedicated to my father, a writer himself, who, in April, was called home by the author and finisher of his faith; my son, Nathanael, of whom I am so proud; my daughter, Abigail, who is truly her father s delight; and the one I love, who has taught me that birds do, indeed, fly at night.
Text copyright 2017 Keith Hooper
This edition copyright 2017 Lion Hudson
The right of Keith Hooper to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Lion Books
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Lion Hudson IP Ltd
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Oxford OX2 8DR, England
www.lionhudson.com/lion
ISBN 978 0 7459 6851 3
e-ISBN 978 0 7459 6852 0
First edition 2017
Acknowledgments
Cover illustration: FPG/Getty Images
Scripture quotation taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised. Copyright 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. NIV is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
C ONTENTS
Acknowledgments
A Timeline of Charles Dickens s Life
Introduction
1 Lady of John Dickens Esq. a Son
2 The Workhouse, the Theatre, and Royalty
3 The Happy Dream of Childhood
4 The Reader, the Watcher, and the Learner
5 Disturbing Shadows of Debt and Despair
6 The Prisoner and the Pupil
7 I Begin Life on My Account
8 The Actor, the Reporter, and the Writer
9 Sketches By Boz and Sparks on Sunday
10 Charitable Angels and the Invisible World of Poverty
11 Oliver Twist: The Parable of the Good Samaritan and Female Angels
12 Nicholas Nickleby: Charitable and Female Angels
13 The Old Curiosity Shop and the Ticking of the Clock
14 Death, the Resurrection, and Child Angels
15 A Christmas Carol
16 The Chimes
17 The Simple Faith of Dickens
18 The Private and Public Charity of Dickens
19 The Battle of Life
20 Telescopic Philanthropy and Original Sin
21 Law, Grace, and Feet of Clay
22 The Triumph of His Latter Years
The End
Select Bibliography
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author would like to thank all the staff at Wroughton library, especially Lucy, Jan, Jane, and Natasha, for their support during the writing of this book. Their assistance has been invaluable. I would also like to thank my wonderful proofreader for the first draft, Elsa.
A T IMELINE OF C HARLES D ICKENS S L IFE YEAR MONTH PERSONAL/FAMILY LIFE 1812 7 February (Friday) Charles John Huffam, second child of John and Elizabeth Dickens, born in Portsmouth. 4 March Baptised at St Mary s parish church Kingston, Portsea, Portsmouth. 1814 Christmas Day John Dickens posted to London. The family move to 10 Norfolk Street, St Pancras. 1816 Christmas Day John Dickens transferred to Sheerness. The family go with him. 1817 April The family move to 2 Ordnance Terrace, Chatham, Kent. 1821 Spring Family move to 18 St Mary s Place, Chatham. Dickens attends William Giles s School in Clover Lane. 1822 September John Dickens recalled to London. The family move to Camden Town. Charles remains with the Giles family. December Charles rejoins his family. 1824 February John Dickens imprisoned in the Marshalsea for debt. 1824 February-March 1825 Dickens sent to work at Warren s Blacking factory. 1825 Spring Dickens resumes his education at Wellington House Academy. Family move to 29 Johnson Street, Somers Town. 1827 Spring Dickens forced to leave Wellington House due to family finances. Starts work as a solicitor s clerk at Ellis and Blackmore. 1828 November Moves to Charles Molloy s solicitors. Teaches himself shorthand. 1829 Begins work at Doctors Commons. 1830 May Meets and falls in love with Maria Beadnell. 1831 Appointed political journalist on the Mirror of Parliament. 1832 Spring Takes on a second journalistic role on the True Sun. Leaves after a few months. 1833 May End of Maria Beadnell romance. December First story, A Dinner at Poplar Walk , appears in The Monthly Magazine. 1834 August Leaves the Mirror of Parliament and starts as a political journalist at the Morning Chronicle. September-December A series of five sketches appears in the Morning Chronicle. 1835 January-August Twenty Sketches of London appear in the Evening Chronicle. May Dickens gets engaged to Catherine Hogarth. 1836 September-January A series of twelve sketches, Scenes and Characters , publishes in Bell s Life of London. 1836 8 February First book, Sketches By Boz , appears. 31 March Opening number of Pickwick Papers published. 1836 2 April Charles and Catherine marry at St Luke s Church Chelsea. Following a week s honeymoon in the village of Chalk, near Gravesend, they return to 15 Furnival s Inn, Holborn, an apartment they share with Dickens s brother, Fred and Catherine s sister Mary. November Dickens leaves the Morning Chronicle. 1837 6 January Dickens first child, Charles Culliford Boz born. (1) 31 January Oliver Twist begins publication in the Bentley Miscellany (Dickens is the editor). April Dickens family move to 48 Doughty Street, Bloomsbury. 7 May Mary Hogarth, aged 17, dies suddenly. Dickens is heart-broken. 17 November Pickwick Papers published in one volume. 1838 6 March Mary (Mamie) Dickens born. (2) 31 March First number of Nicholas Nickleby appears. 9 November Oliver Twist published in one volume. 1839 23 October Nicholas Nickleby published in one volume. 29 October Kate Macready Dickens born. (3) December Dickens family move to 1 Devonshire Terrace, Regent s Park. 1840 25 April First number of The Old Curiosity shop appears. 1841 8 February Walter Landor Dickens born. (4) 15 December The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge published as single volumes. 1842 4 January - 1 July Catherine and Charles Dickens tour America. 18 October American Notes is published. 1843 January First number of Martin Chuzzlewit appears. 19 December A Christmas Carol published. 1844 15 January Francis Jeffrey (Frank) Dickens born. (5) July Martin Chuzzlewit published. July-June 1845 The Dickens family move temporarily to Genoa, Italy. 14 December The Chimes published. 1845 28 October Alfred D Orsay Tennyson Dickens born (6) December The Cricket on the Hearth published. 1846 March Pictures from Italy published. 1847 May-February The Dickens family move to Lausanne, Switzerland and then Paris. October First number of Dombey and Son appears. December Battle of Life published. 18 April Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens born. (7) 1848 April Dombey and Son published. 2 September Dickens s older sister, Fanny, dies of tuberculosis. December The Haunted Man published. 1849 15 January Henry Fielding Dickens born. (8) 1 May First number of David Copperfield appears. 1850 30 March First number of Dickens s weekly journal, Household Words , appears. 16 August Dora Annie Dickens born. (9) November David Copperfield published. 1851 31 March John Dickens dies. 14 April Dora dies. November Family move to Tavistock House, Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury. 1852 March First number of Bleak House appears. 13 March Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens born. (10) 1853 September Bleak House published. 1854 April First number of Hard Times appears. August Hard Times published. 1855 December First number of Little Dorrit appears. 1857 June Little Dorrit published. August Dickens first meets Ellen Ternan (Nell). 1858 May Dickens and Catherine separate. 1859 30 April First number of Dickens s new weekly journal, All the Year Round , containing the opening instalment of A Tale of Two Cities , appears. 30 December A Tale of Two Cities published. 1860 1 December First number of Great Expectations appears in All the Year Round . 1861 August Great Expectations published. 1864 May First number of Our Mutual Friend appears. 1865 November Our Mutual Friend , Dickens s last completed novel, is published. 1867 9 Nov - 1 May 1868 Dickens completes a reading tour of America. 1870 15 March Dickens gives his final public reading at St James s Hall, London. April First number of The Mystery of Edwin Drood appears. 9 June (Thursday) Dickens dies at Gad s Hill Place of a cerebral haemorrhage. 14 June Buried in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey. September Sixth, and final, part of the unfinished Mystery of Edwin Drood appears.
I NTRODUCTION
Charles Dickens was a genius. Arguably the greatest novelist in the English language, he was also an accomplished political journalist, public speaker, performer, editor, and social reformer. More than this, in his life and work, he encapsulated the spirit of the age in which he lived. When, in 1844, Richard Horne s A New Spirit of the Age appeared, the first seventy-six pages were dedicated to the then 32-year-old author. To read a Dickens novel today is to be transported into a different world. The readers of his day had a similar experience when he exposed them to the harsh, uncompromising wilderness endured by the poor.
Born in a newly built suburb of Portsmouth, the story of how Charles Dickens rose from obscurity to become an int