Book description
Esther Summerson finds herself caught up in the frustrations of a
seemingly unending law-case involving her generous guardian Mr Jarndyce
and her wards Ada and Richard. Brought into contact with poverty and
disease, Esther suffers a serious illness. Charles John Huffam Dickens
was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. In 1824,
his father was imprisoned for debt, so Charles was sent to work in a
shoe-dye factory. He later became a clerk in a law firm, a shorthand
reporter in the courts, and a parliamentary and newspaper reporter. In
1833, Dickens began to contribute short stories and essays to
periodicals, heralding the start of a glittering and prolific literary
career. He married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, with whom he had nine
surviving children before they separated in 1858. Dickens died suddenly
at home on June 9, 1870, leaving behind an internationally acclaimed
canon of work, including Oliver Twist (1837), Nicholas Nickleby (1838),
David Copperfield (1849-50), Bleak House (1852-53), Little Dorrit
(1855-57), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations (1860-61) and
Our Mutual Friend (1864-65). He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Michael
Slater is Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College in the
University of London. He was editor of The Dickensian (1968-77) and
President of the International Dickens Fellowship (1988-90). He has
published many books and articles on Dickens.
