Page 6 - A Tale of Two Cities

Introduction
A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1812,
and later brought up in London. He was one of eight children
and his family were very poor. When he was twelve years
old, his father was imprisoned for debt. As a result, Dickens
had to leave school and he was sent to work in a shoe polish
factory to help support the family. The working conditions at
the factory were hard and the boys had to work a long ten-
hour day. Dickens never forgot this very difficult and painful
time and his experiences helped to provide material for some
of his writing in the future. When his father was eventually
released from prison, Dickens was able to leave the factory
and return to school in London.

As a child, Dickens had always loved reading and writing.
After leaving school, he started his career as a journalist for a
newspaper, reporting from the London courts and the House
of Commons. In 1833, Dickens began to write short stories
and essays for monthly magazines which were popular at the
time. His first book, The Pickwick Papers, began as a collection
of stories published in regular monthly sections. It became
so popular that it was published as a complete book in 1837.
After the success of The Pickwick Papers, Dickens became a
full-time novelist and quickly produced a number of best-
selling works including Oliver Twist (1837-39), and Nicholas
Nickleby (1838-39). In 1836, Dickens married Catherine
Hogarth and together they had ten children.

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