Spring: Victorian Social Justice with a Twist in "The Wicked Wit of Charles Dickens"

"Mrs Micawber was quite as elastic. I have known her to be thrown into fainting fits by the King's taxes at three o'clock, and to eat lamb-chops, breaded, and drink warm ale (paid for with two teaspoons that had gone to the pawnbroker's) at four." - Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, 1849-50

A Victorian Era social justice warrior with incredible wit, Charles Dickens wrote about the world of the1800s as he saw it. He could create an image of a character in your mind with one or two well-worded sentences. A master of characterization and illumination, he gave you a lens into Cockney and Aristocratic worlds in equal measure, and amused you all the way. Dickens is a name mentioned in every English Literature course, but one who few have read without being forced to in a class. I am here to tell you that he should be of interest to you (and for more than just his writing). He was a man of ambition, a man who added labels to jars, worked for a lawyer, and then became a journalist - he was often in the grind and still wanted to grind harder to become.... an actor! A man of all trades, now known solely as a literary legend, he tasted success in a way he never imagined and was smart enough to never let it wane.

In our digital age it is easy for 'literature greats' to be clubbed together without mentioning what really differentiates each one. So who was Dickens (in one paragraph):

Dickens was a Middle-class kid that then became poor, had to work in a factory for 12 hours a day when he was 12, before being rescued back into lower-Middle class existence once again. He was schooled, but not at a high standard, however he was very bright and a great performer. His dream was to be an actor but by chance or misery he turned away from performance and took up journalism. Not long into his journalism career (in which he focused on Parliamentary concerns and bills affecting the poorest of the poor across England) he opted to write short stories under a pseudonym (a fake name). That experience led to him being approached by a publisher to write and publish short stories under his real name. This led to a prodigious writing career and accolades in his lifetime and far beyond.

His wit was noted among friends and readers, as was his ability to bounce back and forth from highly detailed perspectives of the very poor to the comfortably wealthy. He wrote from experience and plucked outrageous character names from gravestones he would see while on a walk. Famous for many landmark books, including: Great Expectations, David Copperfield, the Pickwick Papers, and beyond.

Most do not find the time (or interest) to read Classics, because they are either (1) intimidating (consider their size, high language, and poetic prose or verse), or (2) they do not jump off the shelf or e-Reader as a great time to be had. I can assure you that Dickens will make you rethink that. My Father used to do dramatic readings for me of several of Dickens' works at bedtime. One book equated to months of evening reading and theatrics.

What I take from his novels and short stories are atmospheric people and scenes. In a mere two sentences he can frame a person's look, feel, intelligence, aspirations, and short-comings: "Mr Barnacle dated from a better time, when the country was not so parsimonious, and the Circumlocution Office was not so badgered. He wound and wound folds of white cravat round his neck, as he wound and wound folds of tape and paper round the neck of the country." - Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, 1855-7 To call Dickens a talent is a poor compliment - he was a master storyteller. Dickens would have excelled at obscure 100-word college application supplemental essays. And this is why you should read his work. He gives you a roadmap from which to see how personality comes alive in a matter of sentences.

Many think it's trite to quote tired old lines from Classic literature  - and it is - so dig in and find quotations that make you sit up and say, "this line from Dickens inspired me to...." Wow a committee with your personal story and your reading prowess at the same time. Charles Dickens was a nobody before being hailed as a talent of his time! So imagine you like architecture and thus got a great laugh from reading this line about an architect who knows everything, but has done nothing: "Of his architectural doings, nothing was clearly known, except that he had never designed or built anything; but it was generally understood that his knowledge of the science was almost awful in its profundity." Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, 1843-4

Each month I will highlight just the bare essence of a book and suggest you give it a read. If you read even one book a month you will see improvement in how you write and in what kind of introspective writing you can produce. Inspiration often comes from reading and life experience. Writing well comes from reading more.