Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens lived in England in the 1800s. He was a famous and popular writer. Dickens had a very hard life when he was a child, and he wrote about his experiences in his stories.
When Charles was twelve years old, his father went to prison because of money problems. Charles started to work in a factory to help his mother and his seven brothers and sisters. During this time, he lived in a very small room. He worked for ten hours a day, and in the late evenings he prepared his dinner or did his laundry. Dickens didn’t work on Sundays, so that was his favourite day of the week. But he didn’t do anything enjoyable on that day. He and his sister, Fanny, visited their father in prison...
In his stories, Charles wrote about the people and places he knew. In Little Dorrit, he talked about prison. In Oliver Twist, he described the terrible lives of children. People read Dickens’ books and learned about the hard lives of many English children. They wanted those children to have a better life. Because Dickens’ stories were very popular, they helped to change conditions for children in England.

1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE. Correct the false ones.

a. Dickens’ life was not easy.
b. Charles washed his own clothes.
c. On Sundays he didn’t do anything.
d. People didn’t care about poor children.

2. Answer the following questions.

a. Why did Charles start to work?
b. What was his job when he was a boy?
c. How many children were there in Dickens’ family?
d. In which story did Dickens write about the hard lives of children?

3. Complete the sentences.

a. At night after work, Charles ................................
b. Once a week, Charles ..............................................
c. Fanny was Dickens’ ..................................................
d. People read Dickens’ books and wanted children to ...................................

KEY

1.
a. True
b. True
c. False. He went to prison to visit his father.
d. False. People wanted poor children to have a better life.

2.
a. Because his father was in prison and he wanted to help his mother and his brothers and sisters.
b. He was a factory worker.
c. There were eight children.
d. He wrote about it in Oliver Twist.

3.
a. prepared his dinner and did his laundry.
b. went to visit his father in prison.
c. sister.
d. have a better life.