Did you know A Christmas Carol was just the first of many Christmas books by Dickens? And whilst their quality was not as good as A Christmas Carol, they all made more money for him. This was because his publishers chose not to invest as much in the quality and wrapping of the later books, which Dickens had insisted upon for the first.

I was surprised how little I knew about Dickens before I read the remarkable biography by Claire Tomalin recently. He was more complex than I’d realised. Here’s some highlights of things I found out about him.

Facts about Dickens

• At the age of twelve, he was sent away by his wayward father and not-much-better mother to live alone and earn an income to support them by labelling pots of blacking for shoes in a factory on the Thames. In an untypical inversion of social mores, his sister Fanny was sent to the Royal Academy for Music because of her talent playing piano.
• His father was hopeless with money and was imprisoned in the Marshalsea for debt.
• Dickens had irrepressible energy. He would write, set up magazines, host parties, meet dignitaries (including the Prime Minister, famous writers, and the Queen), and drink and dance the hornpipe until the early hours. He shared his time between dwellings in London and Kent.
• He took long walks each night after working, frequently touring the less salubrious areas of London, where he found rich material and characters for his writing. He often clocked up 12 miles or more.
• As his fame grew, and especially after he started doing paid readings, he toured relentlessly. He toured America twice.

• Initially he was excited to visit the States, where he was given an ecstatic reception upon arrival at Boston. But his relationship with the country soured because there was no copyright law so he didn’t get paid a penny for his works initially, which sold in their thousands. When he brought the issue up, the press turned against him accusing him of colonialism.
• He had 10 children with his quiet but loyal wife Catherine, most of whom had ineffectual and hapless lives.
• He was a big drinker and raised the spirits at his parties with his own gin punch.
• He left Catherine in middle age when he fell in love with an 18-year-old girl, Nelly Ternan, with whom he had an enigmatic relationship for the rest of his life. He was heartlessly dismissive of his children who sided with their mother, especially his firstborn son, Charley. As his spirited daughter Katey said, ‘My father was like a madman when my mother left home. This affair brought out all that was worst—all that was weakest in him. He did not care a damn what happened to any of us. Nothing could surpass the misery and unhappiness of our home.’

• He was involved in a train crash on a viaduct at Stapleton, in which many died and he had to scramble out of the window of his teetering carriage. He helped others caught and injured in the train, then put Nelly and her mother on the next train to London to avoid scandal.
• He supported the cause of the poor on a political and practical level, investing vast amounts of time and money in helping those in need. With the wealthy banker Ms Coutts, he established a home for prostitutes, helping them gain self-reliance and a range of skills and, if they wished, supporting them to emigrate to Australia.

A Growing Interest

I’ve been increasingly interested in Dickens over the last few years. Some believe he’s a greater writer than Shakespeare. I’ve been reading more about him recently because I’m doing research for the latest Ghosts of Alice novel. His writing was often gothic and, alongside A Christmas Carol, he wrote several ghost stories, including the chilling The Signalman.

I’m lucky to have inherited a complete set of Odhams Press editions from 1934 from my great-grandmother, who was a passionate fan. My favourite Dickens novel is Little Dorrit. We struggled through it for English A level, but I’m glad we did as it’s seeped into me and I love it. (As an aside, the BBC TV series is fabulous and I urge you to watch it.)

Leave a comment if you’re a Dickens fan, and let me know which of his books is your favourite!