CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870)

1. Was a subtle observer of London life

1.1. He published a collection of articles an tales describing London's people and scenes

1.1.1. Dickens task was to make the ruling classes aware of the social problems without offending his middle-class readers

1.2. which he had the possibility to observe during his wanderings in town, particularly in those parts of the town where the poor lived

1.2.1. He was always on the side of the poor

1.3. His stories frequently portray Victorian life as grim corrupted and cruel

2. Was first a storyteller

2.1. his novels were influenced by the bible, fairy tales,fables,nursery rhymes

3. His greatest talent was creating characters

3.1. Characters' real existences, described not by them but letting them describe themselves

3.2. His Characters exhibit the sheer absurdity of human behavior and their names often personify traits or social position

3.3. They may sometimes be exaggerated and grotesque

4. OLIVER TWIST

4.1. First published in monthly instalments between 1837 and 1839

4.2. Shows the system's treatment of an innocent child born and raised in the workhouse system, where no "Fault" could be ascribed to the child

4.3. The most important setting of the novel is London, which is depicted at three different social levels.

5. Came from a lower middle class family

5.1. He had an unhappy childhood

5.2. He was forced to work in a boot blacking factory after his father was sent to prison

5.2.1. This influenced his depiction of the Martial sea prison

6. He began his career as a journalist

6.1. After the success of his first novel he devoted himself to writing fictions

7. Children are often the most important characters in his novels and are considerated the moral teacher