The Charles Dickens Festival held annually in Riverside California, celebrates the life and times of the renowned author.
Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, on the island of Portsea, Portsmouth, England. He was the second of the eight children born to John Dickens, a naval pay clerk, and Elizabeth Barrow Dickens. Beginning in 1833, Dickens published numerous articles, stories, and novels. Many of the novels were originally printed in serial form, with each installment anxiously awaited on both sides of the Atlantic. His most famous works include David Copperfield, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Old Curiosity Shop, Pickwick Papers, Bleak House, and Little Dorrit. In addition to writing, Dickens worked as a magazine editor and devoted considerable time to amateur theater. He loved to act, and his daily clothing looked theatrical. He wore bright colored jackets and lots of jewelry, creating an appearance that was considered overly flamboyant by the upper classes. Dickens visited the United States twice, first in 1842 and again in 1867, with one visit before and the other after the American Civil War (1861-1865). Especially on the latter trip, his lectures were very popular and were attended by such notables as President Andrew Johnson. He met many of the prominent American writers and journalists of his time, including Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Horace Greeley, Henry Longfellow, Richard Henry Dana and Washington Irving. Dickens vehemently opposed slavery, and called it a “most hideous blot and foul disgrace” upon the face of American civilization. However, he had some sympathies with the cause of the South, because he thought the Civil War was started by the north for economic reasons. Dickens wrote under several pen names, including “Boz”. The circumstances of Dickens’ childhood greatly influenced his writing. His father spent time in debtors’ prison, and the family lived in a series of sordid homes. Young Charles loved books, but he had little formal education.
Size: 3271px × 2169px
Location: Riverside, California
Photo credit: © American Photo Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
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