Charles Dickens, el escritor inglés

 LECCIÓN N°  31

Por: Carola Pozo C.

CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870)

• Charles Dickens fue un célebre escritor y crítico social inglés. Fue considerado como el mejor novelista de la época victoriana.

• Traduce al español su historia resumida en este texto y marca las estructuras gramaticales que estudiamos hasta el momento: 

Charles Dickens  is one of the greatest novelist in the English language. He wrote about the real world of Victorian England and many of his characters were not rich, middle class ladies and gentlemen, but poor and hungry people.

Dickens the child

His family lived in London. His father was a clerk in an office. It was a good job, buy he always spent more money than he earned and he was often in debt. There were eight children in the family, so life was hard.

Charles went to school and his teachers thought he was very clever. But suddenly, when he was only eleven, his father went to prison for his debts and the family went, too. Only Charles didn't go to prison. 

About his work

He went to work in a factory, where he washed bottles.  He worked ten hours a day and earned six shillings (30 p) a week. Every night, after work, he walked for miles back to his room. Charles hated it and never forgot the experience. He used it in many novels, especially David Copperfield and Oliver Twist.

Dickens the writer

When he was sixteen, he started work for a newspaper. He visited law courts and the Houses of Parliament. Soon he was one of the  Morning Chronicle's  best journalists . He also wrote short stories for magazines. These were funny descriptions of people that he met.

Dicken's characters were full of colour and life  - good people were very, very good and bad people were horrible. His books became popular in many countries and he spent a lot of time abroad, in America, Italy, and Switzerland.

Dickens the man

Dickens had ten children, but he didn't have a happy family life. He was successful in his work but not at home, and his wife left him. He never stopped writing and travelling, and he died very suddenly in 1870.

Reading the English text

Glosario

• Clerk = Oficinista
• Newspaper = Diario
• Law courts = Tribunal de justicia
• Houses of Parliament = El Parlamento
• Successful = Exitoso
• Suddenly = Inesperadamente, de pronto

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