Dickens Q&A
Question from Ashleigh: What was the most hardist book to write?
Dear Ashleigh
The hardist (or as we professional writers like to say "hardest") books I ever wrote came early in my career. Eager to make the most of the early success I found myself, in 1837 and 1838, writing two books at once: completing the writing of The Pickwick Papers whilst starting writing Oliver Twist. This was hard enough work I can assure you, but it was made much more difficult when my wife's sister, Mary Hogarth - a beautiful young woman whom I loved as dearly as if she had been my own sister-died unexpectedly. Overwhelmed by grief, and yet with two novels to complete, I found myself in the hardest situation of my career as a writer.
Faithfully yours
Charles Dickens
Question from Becky and Justine: How many books did you write alltogether ?
Dear Becky and Justine
I wrote fourteen novels - although the last of them, Edwin Drood, was left unfinished at my death. In addition to these works I wrote a dozen further shorter works, such as A Christmas Carol (too short to be considered a novel, I think) and various other collections of essays.
Faithfully yours
Charles Dickens
Question from Natasha & Laura (best friends): What was it like in Victorian times?
Dear Becky and Justine
It was like your own times in many respects, for people were born and grew-up and went to school; and people took up jobs and worked; and people got married and were given in marriage and had children of their own; and people grew old and eventually died. Some things are constants to all times and places.
Of course, we had no electricity - and, accordingly there were no electrical devices of any kind, neither mobile phones, nor televisions, nor anything else of that nature. Neither had the 'internal combustion engine' been invented, and so we had no cars, buses or lorries; although most people got about perfectly well by walking, or by riding upon horses. Nobody flew anywhere in aeroplanes, for aeroplanes had not yet been invented, although some few intrepid souls did go into the sky in hot-air balloons. But I often feel that such technological devices - as, for instance, cars and planes and mobile phones - are mere toys, entertaining but not essential to human life; and therefore that my time and yours are not essentially different.
Faithfully yours
Charles Dickens
Question from Tommy: How many people are there in your family?
Dear Tommy
I married my wife Catherine in 1836 and together we proceeded to have a great number of children - ten in all. Their names were: Charles Junior, Mary, Katherine, Walter, Francis (who went off to Canada and became a Mountie), Alfred, Edward (who was nicknamed "Plorn" and who emigrated to Australia), Sydney, Henry (who achieved great success as a lawyer) and Dora (who I am sorry to say died aged only a year-and-a-half old).
Faithfully yours
Charles Dickens