1. The Life and Times of Charles Dickens

2. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
Born in 1812 to a lower-middle-class family who moved around a lot
At age 10, the Dickens family moved to London due to financial troubles where his father was later imprisoned for debts unpaid
Charles was forced to work in a shoe factory to earn money for his family
Stark contrast between his happy school life and the “living grave” he worked in as a child
Forced to leave school due to lack of funding
These experiences heavily influenced his life and writings

3. Overnight Success Wrote for Pickwick Papers from 1836-1837
Most popular author of his time
Novels:
Oliver Twist: comic characters, gruesome villains, rambling narrators
Hard Times: written during his middle and late periods/ darker visions of Victorian society and bring social problems to light
David Copperfield and Great Expectations: Two masterpieces/somewhat autobiographical
Barnaby Rudge and A Tale of Two Cities: historical novels

4. Personal Struggles
Catherine Thomson, the eldest daughter of 10 children was a journalist where Dickens was a young journalist
They became engaged in 1835 and were married on 2 April 1836
Catherine's sister, Mary, entered Dickens's household to offer support to her newly married sister and brother-in-law
Dickens became very attached to Mary, and she died in his arms after a brief illness in She became a character in many of his books

5. Personal Struggles Continued
Dickens found Catherine an increasingly incompetent mother and housekeeper over the years and blamed her for the birth of their 10 children, which caused him financial worries.
They separated in May 1858, after Catherine accidentally received a bracelet meant for another woman –it was rumored that Dickens had many affairs with other women, which he strongly denied.
Now alone, he focused on improving education, acting in plays, and traveling on reading tours that brought him wealth
This hectic pace wore him out. He returned home to rest and died in 1870 while working on his final, unfinished novel.

6. Background for A Tale of Two Cities
Takes place between in London, Paris, rural France and Dover (English port city) but some scenes occur prior through flashbacks
Rich in descriptions, panoramic sweep of history, suspense, mystery, and terror
Time period was currently the best for England’s wealthy but behind this scene, the nation’s poor were suffering from hunger, disease, and poverty
Dickens believed the fate of England would mirror that of France during the French Revolution (more information given at a later date)

7. Major Themes Theme: Progress of Destiny
Characters are symbolic representations of ideas rather than real-life individuals
Themes of the novel: New Beginnings
Lives of people are interrupted or wasted then reawakened with new purpose
Mistakes of the past and evil it causes can turn into triumphs through suffering and virtuous actions