Great expectations is one of my favourite books by Charles Dickens. As some of you may already know, Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth on 7th February 1812, that is, two hundred years ago and we will be commemorating it along this year.
Charles Dickens was the second of eight children and his childhood experiences were similar to those depicted in his books David Copperfield or Great Expectations. His father was a government clerk who was imprisoned for debt, as a result Dickens was sent to work in a blacking warehouse, labelling bottles, for a short time at the age of twelve.
He received little formal education but became a reporter of parliamentary debates for the Morning Chronicle, he was a solicitor's clerk as well as becoming the first editor of the Daily News, although he resigned after only seventeen issues.
Maybe he was one of the most prolific English writers at that time. His novels were issued in monthly parts before being published in volumes, some of his works were published with the pseudonym "Boz".
Have you heard of Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol,A Tale of Two Cities, The Old Curiosity Shop, just to name a few, ...
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| A photo from the film Oliver Twist |
He got married, had ten children, travelled in Europe, ... but at the age of 58, in1870,he died of a stroke and he was buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey, in case you want to pay him a visit whenever you go to London.
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| Westminster Abbey |
I have never read anything of Dickens and I feel a little embarrased because all the people say that he was a really good writter.
ResponderEliminarI think I have a problem with classical books that I need to deal with (I have to confess I haven´t read Don Quijote neither). So, as in a trial, I swear my next book will be of Dickens!
Would you recommend me one to begin? Great Expectations? A short one?
OK, Román, don't worry it's not too late to start reading the classics. Didn't you have to read Don Quixote when you were in secondary school? At least, the first part of it, which, as you all know, is dedicated to the Duke of Béjar?
EliminarIf you want to read Dickens, why don't you read A Christmas Carol, you know the plot and you'll find it easier and it's the shortest I can think of now, je,je,je.
Is Charles Dickens in England like the naturalistic writers in Spain? Galdós, Clarín...
ResponderEliminarI read Don Quixote once a year.
Antonio.
I think so and please tell me if I'm wrong but they all described how people suffered from illnesses, poverty, loneliness, and the worst insticts people may have.
EliminarI'm happy to hear that you read Don Quixote once a year, but do you do it on the 23rd of April -the date when Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare died?
I've never read Don Quijote but I could Know the history of him on a TV program when I was a child. I think is a very boring book and very, very fat, but maybe I'll read it in the future when I'll be a retired. On the other hand I know Dickens, I read some books of him at primary school and liked it a lot. Ana
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