Life of Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum Portsmouth

Charles Dickens Biography

One of the country's most celebrated satirical Victorian writers, Charles Dickens, was born in Portsmouth on 7 February 1812. The house where his parents lived was in the Portsea area of Portsmouth. This has remained relatively untouched and is now a museum dedicated to the author. He came from modest beginnings; one of eight siblings, his father was financially inept and worked as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office eventually spending six months in Marshlea Debtor's Prison which Dickens later drew inspiration from for Little Dorrit. His mother was equally domestically inept but had aspirations above their station which led to a feeling of abandonment from Charles that may have coloured his depiction of her for the character Mrs Nickleby.

The family left Portsmouth when Dickens was just 5 years old for his father to take up a post at Chatham Dockyard in Kent where for a brief time Dickens' childhood was more peaceful in countryside surroundings and days out to Rochester - this time left an impression on Dickens and he would seek comfort later in life in the Kent countryside. However, when his family moved to London in 1822 he was sent to work in a warehouse labelling and sealing pots and at 12 he was working ten hours a day to help support the family. When his father was released from prison he intended to take Charles out of the factory but his mother insisted he continue as they couldn't do without the money Dickens never forgave her. It was through this time Dickens gained first-hand experience of the horrors children were put through in the workplace and which often features in his novels.

However, by 1824 Dickens had escaped the factory and studied at Wellington House Academy in Hampstead for three years before once again his mother pushed him out to work in a solicitor's office which he hated but managed to turn it around to his advantage by later finding the experience a source of inspiration for his writing and by learning Gurney shorthand in three months (it was supposed to take three years to learn!) so he could branch out into journalism. Travelling the country reporting on events gave Dickens material for his first publication the "Collected Sketches by Boz" in 1836 which were a collection of witty observations and which led on to the serialisation of his first novel "The Pickwick Papers".

Dickens had a way of capturing the underside and inequality of society in an amusing but poignant way. His writing has proved so popular through the years that his books have never been out of print. Much of his work were a social commentary highlighting the exploitation of children and the poor which ultimately brought these issues to a wider audience. It also crossed over into his private life and he was a passionate publicist for many charities giving talks and writing articles and producing pamphlets calling for social reform as well as getting involved in particular causes directly such as The Ragged Schools project in collaboration with Angela Burdett-Coutts where informal school rooms were opened up at night for free teaching to those who had no access to education or care.

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Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum

The house where Charles Dickens was born has been restored to house a museum dedicated to the author. The rooms have been faithfully decorated to echo the Regency style that would have been popular at the time the Dickens family lived here - although it is likely to be much more ordered now than when a family of 10 was living here!

Around the house a range of Charles Dickens personal possessions, photographs of the author and cartoons of characters in his book are displayed including the original dresser the Dickens' would have used. The centrepiece of the museum is the chaise longue on which Charles Dickens died at Gads Hill Place in Higham, Kent.

The Museum is open on Charles Dickens' birthday, 7 February and from mid May-Sept 10am-5.30pm.

Charles Dickens Birthplace, 393 Old Commercial Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 4QL. Tel: 023 9282 7261. Fax: 023 9287 5276. Minicom: 023 9287 6550. Email: info@charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk. Education Officer: Email: education@charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk

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