Charles Dickens Guide

The author Charles Dickens is famous for his novels that show everyday life, especially for poor people, in Victorian England. Dickens himself was poor as a child, and he put that experience into his books.

The character David Copperfield in particular is based on Dickens’ own childhood. His books are still popular today and are often adapted for TV and films.

Teach your children about Charles Dickens using our handy topic guide!



Teaching Ideas

Write a biography of Charles Dickens, or try one of our other teaching ideas.
We have lots of ideas for using A Christmas Carol in the classroom.
You could also try this series of lessons on A Christmas Carol from Oak National Academy.
Use the list of Dickens’ character names on this page as a stimulus for creating characters.
Listen to this BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist and retell the story. (Note, this includes some scenes of violence and crime, check for suitability before using with children).

i

Resources

Our Victorians Pack includes a biography of Dickens.

Use our fact cards as a reading resource, or to research Dickens’ life.
Use one of our Charles Dickens banners on your display board.
This site contains a digitised archive of Dickens’ magazine Household Words. It is interesting for thinking about the layout of text and how it has changed since Dickens’ time.
Look at some of these paintings of children in Victorian times. What is the same and what is different from now?



Charles Dickens Facts

Charles Dickens was born on the 7th of February 1812 in Portsmouth, England.
At the age of 11, Dickens was sent to work at a bootblacking factory, where he stuck the labels on the pots of bootblack (polish).
Dickens was working on a novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, when he died. He did not leave any notes that show how he planned to end it.
Dickens’ books were originally published in monthly instalments in his magazine Household Words, not as complete books.
Dickens had a pet raven called Grip, who he put in his novel, Barnaby Rudge

