Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: How many novels did Charles Dickens write?
Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed readings extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Kafka, at the time, was also reading, or rereading, several novels by Charles Dickens and made the following remarks in his diary: "My intention was, as I now see, to write a Dickens novel, enriched by the sharper lights which I took from our modern times, and by the pallid ones I would have found in my own interior."
The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (commonly known as Martin Chuzzlewit) is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between 1842 and 1844. While writing it Dickens told a friend that he thought it his best work, but it was one of his least popular novels. Like nearly all of Dickens' novels, "Martin Chuzzlewit" was released to the public in monthly instalments. Early sales of the monthly parts were disappointing, compared to previous works, so Dickens changed the plot to send the title character to America. This allowed the author to portray the United States (which he had visited in 1842) satirically as a near wilderness with pockets of civilisation filled with deceptive and self-promoting hucksters.
Gerald Roderick Charles Dickens (born 9 October 1963) is an English actor and performer best known for his one man shows based on the novels of his great-great-grandfather, Charles Dickens. He was the President of the Dickens Fellowship from 2005 to 2007.
Good examples of authoritarian literature include "Beowulf", "Pilgrim's Progress", and in English literature we see vestiges as late as Charles Dickens. While didacticism forms a significant component of Shaw's, Orwell's and C. S. Lewis' fiction as well, their works can not strictly be considered as authoritarian literature because they were not writing at the whim of political leaders. Dickens was not writing for the British government either, but he used the same forms of his predecessors, who did write for the court, particularly in his earlier novels, such as "A Tale of Two Cities" and "David Copperfield", where we most easily observe a certain preachiness. Dickens constructed his plots for the sake of demonstration rather than the purpose of exploration. However, Charles Dickens is a transitional figure, and in his later novels, such as "Great Expectations", we can "feel the two impulses warring in the writer's mind".
The letters are the only extended autobiographical writing by Dickens that has survived. Attempts at writing a diary seldom lasted long and for the most part the manuscripts are lost, while a memoir of his childhood was discontinued and converted into some of the early chapters of "David Copperfield". The letters therefore give the most immediate and vivid expression of Dickens's life as seen by himself, even though they rarely examine his interior life. They give a unique insight into the way Dickens's processes of composition worked as he wrestled with the novels we know and considered others which were never written, such as the "book whereof the whole story shall be on the top of the Great St. Bernard". Dickens's almost constant travelling is also reflected. George Gissing wrote that "If he makes a tour in any part of the British Isles, he writes a full description of all he sees, of everything that happens, and writes it with such gusto, such mirth, such strokes of fine picturing, as appear in no other private letters ever given to the public." The range of subject-matter of the letters is described by his editor, Jenny Hartley:
Many scholars have noted the paradox between Dickens' support for various liberal causes and his racism, nationalist chauvinism and imperialist mentality. Biographer Peter Ackroyd in his 1990 biography of Dickens (the 2nd of four books on Dickens) duly notes Dickens' sympathy for the poor, opposition to child labour, campaigns for sanitation reform, and opposition to capital punishment. He also asserts that "In modern terminology Dickens was a "racist" of the most egregious kind, a fact that ought to give pause to those who persist in believing that he was necessarily the epitome of all that was decent and benign in the previous century." Ackroyd also notes that Dickens did not believe that the North in the American Civil War was genuinely interested in the abolition of slavery, and he nearly publicly supported the South for that reason. Ackroyd twice notes that Dickens' major objection to missionaries was that they were more concerned with natives abroad than with the poor at home. For example, in his novel "Bleak House" Dickens mocks Mrs. Jellyby, who neglects her children for the natives of a fictional African country. The disjunction between Dickens' criticism of slavery and his crude caricatures of other races has also been noted by Patrick Brantlinger in his "A Companion to the Victorian Novel". He cites Dickens' description of an Irish colony in America's Catskill mountains a mess of pigs, pots, and dunghills. Dickens views them as a "racially repellent" group. Jane Smiley writing in the Penguin Lives bio of Dickens writes "we should not interpret him as the kind of left-liberal we know today-he was racist, imperialist, sometimes antisemitic, a believer in harsh prison conditions, and distrustful of trade unions. An anthology of Dickens' essays from "Household Words" warns the reader in its introduction that in these essays "Women, the Irish, Chinese and Aborigines are described in biased, racist, stereotypical or otherwise less than flattering terms...We..encourage you to work towards a more positive understanding of the different groups that make up our community" The "Historical Encyclopedia of Anti-Semitism" notes the paradox of Dickens both being a "champion of causes of the oppressed" who abhorred slavery and supported the European liberal revolutions of the 1840s, and his creation of the antisemitic caricature of the character of Fagin.
"Charles Dickens's Networks: Public transport and the Novel" (Oxford), his second book, examines the history of public transport's systematic networking of people and how this revolutionized perceptions of time, space, and community, and how the art form of the novel played a special role in synthesizing and understanding that revolution. Focusing on a trio of road novels by Charles Dickens, this study looks first at a key historical moment in the networked community's coming together, then at a subsequent recognition of its tragic limits, and, finally, at the construction of a revised view that expressed the precarious, limited omniscient perspective by which passengers came to imagine their journeying in the network.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age.[10] His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell, G. K. Chesterton and Tom Wolfe—for his realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.[11]
Dickens's serialisation of his novels was not uncriticised by other authors. In Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Wrecker, there is a comment by Captain Nares, investigating an abandoned ship: "See! They were writing up the log," said Nares, pointing to the ink-bottle. "Caught napping, as usual. I wonder if there ever was a captain yet that lost a ship with his log-book up to date? He generally has about a month to fill up on a clean break, like Charles Dickens and his serial novels."[153]
Batman: Noël is an original graphic novel written and illustrated by Lee Bermejo, who previously did the artwork for "Joker". It is based on Charles Dickens' classic novel "A Christmas Carol" and features characters from both Dickens and the Batman mythos. Like "Joker", the story is narrated by one of the Clown Prince's henchmen.
Blundeston is probably best known for being the birthplace of David Copperfield in the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens. It is not known whether Dickens ever visited Blundeston, but from letters he wrote he mentions choosing the name after seeing it on a signpost during a visit to Great Yarmouth. Links with the novel are prevalent in Blundeston today with road names such as Copperfield Terrace and Dickens Court. On the village sign David is pictured looking towards the church, and the Plough Inn has a plaque over its entrance that says "Barkis (the Carrier) from the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, started from here". The classes in the primary school are called Micawber, Trotwood, Peggoty, Copperfield and Barkis after characters in the novel.
Virginia Woolf maintained that "we remodel our psychological geography when we read Dickens" as he produces "characters who exist not in detail, not accurately or exactly, but abundantly in a cluster of wild yet extraordinarily revealing remarks".[144] One "character" vividly drawn throughout his novels is London itself.[145] Dickens described London as a magic lantern, inspiring the places and people in many of his novels.[146] From the coaching inns on the outskirts of the city to the lower reaches of the Thames, all aspects of the capital – Dickens' London – are described over the course of his body of work.[146]
Bleak House is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a serial of 20 episodes between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and the story is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and partly by an omniscient narrator. At the centre of "Bleak House" is a long-running legal case in the Court of Chancery, "Jarndyce and Jarndyce", which came about because a testator wrote several conflicting wills. In a preface to the 1853 first edition, Dickens claimed there were many actual precedents for his fictional case. One such was probably the Thellusson v Woodford case in which a will read in 1797 was contested and not determined until 1859. Though the legal profession criticised Dickens's satire as exaggerated, this novel helped support a judicial reform movement which culminated in the enactment of legal reform in the 1870s.
Although he began writing the novel, Ainsworth suffered from more of his father-in-law's financial problems and was unable to resume work on it until 1833. During the autumn of that year he managed to complete large portions of the novel while staying in Sussex, near Sergison's home. The novel was published in April 1834 by Richard Bentley and contained illustrations by George Cruikshank. After working five years in the legal profession, Ainsworth gave it up and dedicated himself to writing. "Rookwood" garnered wide critical and financial success, and pleased his associates at "Fraser's Magazine". He started to dress as a dandy, and he was introduced to the Salon of Margaret Power, Countess of Blessington. Her Salon was a group of men and literary women, and would include many others but many in London believed that Blessington had a damaged reputation. However, this did not stop Ainsworth from meeting many famous British authors from the Salon. While part of her circle, he wrote for her collection of stories called "The Book of Beauty", published in 1835. Ainsworth continued in various literary circles, but his wife and daughters did not; he stayed in Kensal Lodge while they lived with Ebers. During this time, Ainsworth met Charles Dickens and introduced the young writer to the publisher John Macrone and the illustrator Cruikshank. Ainsworth also introduced Dickens to John Forster at Kensal Lodge, initiating a close friendship between the two.
In writing the book, Holmes did not let Dickens overshadow his own intentions. Rather than imitate Dickens' writing style, which he felt would be too bleak for the kind of show he wished to write, Holmes employed the device of a "show-within-a-show." The cast members of "Drood" do not specifically play Dickens' characters, but rather music hall performers who are performing as Dickens' characters. This device allowed for a great deal of light comedy that was not originally found in Dickens' novel to be incorporated into the show, as well as several musical numbers that were unrelated to the original story. In explaining this decision, Holmes was quoted as saying, "This is not Nicholas Nickleby set to music--it's not a Dickensian work. It's light and fun and entertaining. But I hope--I think--that Dickens would have enjoyed it." Holmes has also pointed out that "It has the same relationship to Dickens that "Kiss Me Kate" does to "The Taming of the Shrew"." The pantomime concept also allowed Holmes to employ a female in the lead male role, which further allowed him to write a love song designed to be sung by two sopranos.
Grace Moore observes that after a similar uprising in Jamaica, Dickens did not exhibit the same level of fury that he did towards the Indians in the Sepoy Rebellion. She attributes this to Dickens' greater awareness of the brutal actions of British soldiers toward natives in their colonies, and suggests that Dickens now regretted his former attitude. In taking this position, she directly argues against the views of Patrick Brantlinger and William Oddie who see racism as having gone unabated in the later writings of Dickens. However, Moore notes that while Dickens became increasingly aware of the unethical actions of British colonialists and how they provided a motivation for local rebellion, Dickens never lost his sense that there was nothing desirable about the life-style of foreign peoples, though
The Francophile Dickens often holidayed in France, and in a speech delivered in Paris in 1846 in French called the French "the first people in the universe".[91] During his visit to Paris, Dickens met the French literati Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Eugène Scribe, Théophile Gautier, François-René de Chateaubriand and Eugène Sue.[91] Dickens started to write David Copperfield in 1848. It was published between 1849 and 1850. Scholars consider it as Dickens's veiled autobiography with the title character modeled after the author himself. It was Dickens's personal favourite among his own novels.
It hosted the serialisation of many prominent novels, including Dickens' own "A Tale of Two Cities". After Dickens's death in 1870, it was owned and edited by his eldest son Charles Dickens, Jr., with a quarter-share being owned by the editor and journalist William Henry Wills.
Austen had many admiring readers during the 19th century who, according to critic Ian Watt, appreciated her " to ordinary social experience". However, Austen's novels did not conform to certain strong Romantic and Victorian British preferences, which required that "powerful emotion [be] authenticated by an egregious display of sound and colour in the writing". Victorian critics and audiences were drawn to the work of authors such as Charles Dickens and George Eliot; by comparison, Austen's novels seemed provincial and quiet. Although Austen's works were republished beginning in late 1832 or early 1833 by Richard Bentley in the "Standard Novels" series, and remained in print continuously thereafter, they were not best-sellers. Southam describes her "reading public between 1821 and 1870" as "minute beside the known audience for Dickens and his contemporaries".
Mary Scott Hogarth (26 October 1819 – 7 May 1837) was the sister of Catherine Dickens ( Hogarth) and the sister-in-law of Charles Dickens. Hogarth first met Charles Dickens aged 14, and after Dickens married Hogarth's sister Catherine, Mary lived with the couple for a year. Hogarth died suddenly in 1837, which caused Dickens to miss the publication dates for two novels: "The Pickwick Papers" and "Oliver Twist". Hogarth later became the inspiration for a number of characters in Dickens novels, including Rose Maylie in "Oliver Twist" and Little Nell in "The Old Curiosity Shop". Charles and Catherine Dickens' first child was named Mary in her memory.
When Charles Dickens and his family visited Italy in 1843, Fred joined them for a period, but his visit almost turned to tragedy when he got into difficulties while swimming in the sea and had to be rescued by local fishermen. In 1845, the 25-year-old Fred Dickens fell in love with 15-year-old Anna Weller, a match that Charles disapproved of, as he did not trust the girl. His attitude caused a breach between the brothers, Charles believing by now that Fred possessed all the worst qualities of their father. Fred married Anna on 30 December 1848 despite Charles's misgivings, but in 1858 the couple applied for a judicial separation on the grounds of adultery. Anna was granted alimony, which Fred Dickens refused to pay, leaving the country. On his return in 1862, he was arrested and imprisoned for debt. Like his father before him, who had also been imprisoned for debt, Fred had gained credit from various sources by trading on his brother's fame, "...rasping my very heart," Charles Dickens stated. Fred became the inspiration for the dissolute brother of Little Nell, also named Fred, in "The Old Curiosity Shop". During the period Charles was writing the novel, Fred Dickens had been obtaining money from his brother's friends and even tried to get money from Charles himself, who refused to help. On the day of his birthday Charles received a letter from Fred which said, "I cannot help saying that the tone of your letter is as "cold & unfeeling" as one Man could pen to another – much less one Brother to another... the world fancy from your writings that you are the most Tolerant of Men – let them individually come under your lash...& God help them..." 
Museums and festivals celebrating Dickens's life and works exist in many places with which Dickens was associated. These include the Charles Dickens Museum in London, the historic home where he wrote Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickleby; and the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum in Portsmouth, the house in which he was born. The original manuscripts of many of his novels, as well as printers' proofs, first editions, and illustrations from the collection of Dickens's friend John Forster are held at the Victoria and Albert Museum.[183] Dickens's will stipulated that no memorial be erected in his honour; nonetheless, a life-size bronze statue of Dickens entitled Dickens and Little Nell, cast in 1891 by Francis Edwin Elwell, stands in Clark Park in the Spruce Hill neighbourhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Another life-size statue of Dickens is located at Centennial Park, Sydney, Australia.[184] In 2014, a life-size statue was unveiled near his birthplace in Portsmouth on the 202nd anniversary of his birth; this was supported by the author's great-great grandsons, Ian and Gerald Dickens.[185][186]
Both towns are known in connection with Charles Dickens, who made regular visits to the area to see his friend Charles Smithson. Dickens did not write "A Christmas Carol" while staying in Malton, but was inspired by some of the buildings in the town. There have been recent revivals of Dickens-related festivals. Malton and the neighbouring village of Old Malton provide the settings for the collection of stories told in the book, "All is Bright - A Yorkshire Lad's Christmas" by Dave Preston.
In November 1836, Dickens accepted the position of editor of Bentley's Miscellany, a position he held for three years, until he fell out with the owner.[46] In 1836 as he finished the last instalments of The Pickwick Papers, he began writing the beginning instalments of Oliver Twist—writing as many as 90 pages a month—while continuing work on Bentley's and also writing four plays, the production of which he oversaw. Oliver Twist, published in 1838, became one of Dickens's better known stories, and was the first Victorian novel with a child protagonist.[47]