![]() ![]() ![]() A Christmas Carol, the first of the hugely popular Christmas Books, appeared in 1843, while Martin Chuzzlewit, which included a fictionalized account of his American travels, was first published over the period 1843-4. His experiences are recorded in American Notes (1842). After finishing Barnaby Rudge (1841) Dickens set off for America he went full of enthusiasm for the young republic but, in spite of a triumphant reception, he returned disillusioned. He began Oliver Twist in 1837, followed by Nicholas Nickleby (1838) and The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-41). Part of the secret of his success was the method of cheap serial publication he adopted thereafter, all Dickens's novels were first published in serial form. ![]() The Pickwick Papers was published in 1836-7, after a slow start it became a publishing phenomenon and Dickens's characters the centre of a popular cult. He began to publish sketches in various periodicals, which were subsequently republished as Sketches by Boz. He received little formal education, but taught himself shorthand and became a reporter of parliamentary debates for the Morning Chronicle. His father, who was a government clerk, was imprisoned for debt and Dickens was briefly sent to work in a blacking warehouse at the age of twelve. Dickens's childhood experiences were similar to those depicted in David Copperfield. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth on 7 February 1812, the second of eight children. ![]()
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