One of the 19th century’s most popular, prolific, and influential writers, Charles Dickens, shaped public opinion and spurred legal reforms addressing the dire social inequalities of the Victorian era. The accompanying video delves into the latter, often more complex, period of his life, beginning in 1844. At this point, the author was enjoying the success of masterpieces like A Christmas Carol, yet his boundless energy and relentless drive were far from satisfied with domestic tranquility.
Indeed, a deep dive into the later years of Charles Dickens reveals a man whose private turmoil often mirrored the social injustices he so vividly portrayed. His personal evolution, marked by intense experiences and profound contradictions, significantly influenced the darkening themes and intricate characterizations that would define his most mature works.
Dickens’s Global Perspective: Travels and Social Commentary
Following the rather disappointing reception of Martin Chuzzlewit, a change of scenery was deemed necessary for Dickens, who, at 32, was already a literary luminary. An educational trip to Italy was undertaken with his family, offering both a respite and fresh inspiration.
The journey, traversing through France and then extensively across Italy, lasted almost a year. This grand tour encompassed iconic cities such as Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, and the ancient ruins of Pompeii, even reaching as far south as the Temples of Paestum.
During this period, Italy was grappling with significant health challenges, notably malaria, which accounted for an estimated two million cases and up to 20,000 deaths annually. Imagine the stark contrast between the majestic classical sites and the ever-present threat of disease in the landscapes Dickens encountered.
His observations were meticulously chronicled in Pictures from Italy, a work that transcended mere travelogue. Characteristically, Dickens infused it with sharp social commentary, drawing attention to the glaring disparities between opulent architecture and the widespread poverty beneath. Even Rome, which might have been expected to inspire awe, was met with a rather indifferent humor, perceived by Dickens as much like London in its urban sprawl and complexities.
Mesmerism and the Early Quest for Healing
While abroad, Charles Dickens developed a keen interest in Mesmerism, or Hypnosis, an 18th-century craze that experienced a revival in the 1830s. This practice, named after Anton Mesmer, involved a form of therapeutic trance believed to influence “animal magnetism.”
Dickens’s fascination was deepened through his friendship with Dr. John Elliotson, a Professor of Practical Medicine at University College Hospital London and a staunch proponent of Mesmerism’s medical applications. Public demonstrations of the technique, attended by Dickens, solidified his belief in its potential.
He began experimenting on his own family and even attempted to treat Augusta de la Rue, the English-born wife of a Swiss banker, who suffered from severe headaches, insomnia, tics, and dramatic convulsions, alongside fears of a “phantom.” After several sessions, Madame de la Rue reported significant improvement, feeling calmer and sleeping better.
These symptoms, reminiscent of cases of hysteria studied by Jean-Martin Charcot and later Sigmund Freud, further convinced Dickens of his skill as a practitioner. Despite mainstream medicine’s hostility, particularly as Mesmerism began to intertwine with spiritualist ideas, Dickens maintained his belief in its effectiveness, preferring scientific explanations over supernatural invocations.
Journalism, Nepotism, and Social Reform Efforts
Upon his return to London, Dickens, never one to remain idle, conceived the idea of establishing a liberal newspaper. The aim was to counter the conservative narrative often presented by publications like The Times and to champion principles of progress, education, and civil liberties.
With funding secured, The Daily News launched on January 21, 1846. This publication sought to promote improvement, advocate for education, and champion both civil and religious liberty, alongside equal legislation. The venture was a serious commitment to his social reform ideals.
Curiously, despite his fierce criticism of nepotism within the civil service, Dickens was not averse to incorporating family into his new enterprise. His friend and fellow social reformer, Douglas Jerrold, was appointed sub-editor, while his father, John Dickens, oversaw the reporters. His father-in-law, George Hogarth, was even paid five guineas a week to contribute music articles, a weekly stipend that today would be a significant sum.
The newspaper fiercely attacked the infamous Corn Laws, which had for years artificially inflated food prices, benefiting landowners but leading to widespread food shortages and starvation among the populace. However, Dickens’s tenure as editor was brief, lasting only ten weeks, as he resigned due to exhaustion and frustrations with one of the owners.
The Urania House Project: A Vision for “Fallen Women”
Following his foray into journalism, Dickens channeled his philanthropic energy into a remarkable social project: establishing a rehabilitation home for “fallen women.” His vision was outlined in a comprehensive 14-page letter to Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of Britain’s wealthiest women.
Burdett-Coutts, a banking heiress and deeply religious philanthropist, was already a prominent supporter of numerous causes, including ragged schools, housing projects, and hospitals. Her involvement, which also included the rather unique role as president of the British Goat Society, proved crucial for the venture.
Named Urania Cottage, the home aimed to offer a new beginning to young women forced into prostitution or crime. The staff operated under strict instructions not to question the women about their pasts, focusing entirely on their future rehabilitation.
Residents were provided with good nutrition, literacy education, and even “luxuries” such as piano and singing lessons, which sparked considerable contemporary comment on their perceived inappropriateness. Imagine the societal debate around offering such amenities to women who were often considered irredeemable.
Dickens’s involvement was far from nominal; he personally managed every detail, from interviewing applicants and selecting staff to overseeing repairs. As noted by Jenny Hartley in her book on Urania, this role allowed him to create and control a “total world” according to his own rules. His dedication was profound, yet his intense focus on this project was perceived by his own family as neglect.
Although detailed records that might have illuminated Dickens’s motivations are no longer available, the project yielded notable success. Of the first 54 cases, 30 emigrated to the colonies and built new lives, a testament to the program’s effectiveness. This success rate significantly surpassed that achieved by figures such as Prime Minister William Gladstone, who reportedly helped only one out of 90 women he personally assisted. Such statistics highlight the tangible impact of Dickens’s direct social engagement.
Literary Evolution: Dombey and Son and David Copperfield
The success of the Urania project coincided with significant developments in Dickens’s literary career. After the initial disappointment of Martin Chuzzlewit, Dombey and Son marked a triumphant return to form, with its first issue selling out in days.
This novel also signaled a notable shift in his writing style; his narratives began to embrace darker, more serious tones and were more carefully planned than his earlier, often improvisational works. Imagine if earlier novels had been fully plotted from the outset, rather than evolving with public reaction to each installment.
The portrayal of women also grew more complex and sympathetic, as exemplified by Alice Brown in Dombey and Son. This character, seduced and abandoned, is driven into prostitution and crime, ultimately facing transportation to the colonies – a stark reflection of Victorian societal injustices.
This period also saw the creation of David Copperfield, widely considered his most personal novel, drawing heavily on his own difficult childhood experiences. Despite its now-acknowledged status as one of his finest works, it achieved modest sales of 25,000 copies per installment and received mixed reviews at the time. Yet, Dickens himself was immensely proud, writing to the dedicatee, “Everyone is cheering David on!”
Domestic Turmoil and Public Scandal
By the mid-1850s, while his professional life flourished, major cracks began to appear in Charles Dickens’s marriage to Catherine. After ten children and at least two miscarriages, Catherine, now 40, was no longer the “petite young woman” he had married.
His emotional detachment was starkly highlighted by his renewed contact with his first love, Maria Beadnell. However, upon meeting her again, he found she too had changed, and the romantic interest quickly dissipated.
The turning point arrived with his involvement in staging the play The Frozen Deep. During this production, Dickens, then 45, met Ellen Ternan, an 18-year-old actress. Blonde, blue-eyed, and seemingly innocent, Nelly Ternan quickly became a central, albeit clandestine, figure in his life.
While officially described as mere friends, his children and later biographers suggest she became his lover, a relationship maintained for the remaining 14 years of his life. There are even theories of a son born to them who died in infancy. Imagine the secrecy and elaborate measures required to conceal such a relationship in Victorian society.
The affair erupted into public scandal in May 1858 when a bracelet intended for Nelly was mistakenly delivered to Catherine. Solicitors were involved, finances were arranged, and Dickens and Catherine separated, a truly shocking event for Victorian England.
In an attempt to manage the widespread rumors, Dickens published an open letter claiming years of marital unhappiness and accusing Catherine of having a “mental disorder” and neglecting their children, leaving their care to her sister Georgina. He fiercely denied any affair with Ternan, declaring her “a more virtuous and spotless creature” than anyone on earth. His accusations of Catherine’s mental instability, made privately and publicly, capitalized on the immense stigma of mental illness at the time.
His friends were presented with an ultimatum: accept his narrative and shun Catherine, or be estranged from him. Elizabeth Barrett Browning famously condemned his use of his “genius as a cudgel against the woman he promised to protect tenderly.” Even more disturbingly, letters later revealed Dickens’s attempt to have Catherine admitted to an asylum, an effort thwarted by Dr. Thomas Harrington Tuke, Superintendent of Manor House Asylum, who evidently stood his ground against the powerful author’s persuasion. Imagine the terror Catherine must have felt, knowing her husband’s influence and determination.
Catherine agreed to a quiet separation, receiving an annual allowance of 600 pounds, a sum that today would be approximately 90,000 pounds. Their eldest son, Charley, accompanied her, but she never saw or spoke to Dickens again. The other children remained with Dickens, under Georgina’s care, further complicating family dynamics. His daughter Kate later recounted barely speaking to her father for two years due to her continued contact with her mother.
The Staplehurst Rail Crash and Lingering Trauma
In June 1865, returning from Paris with Ellen Ternan and her mother, Charles Dickens was involved in the Staplehurst rail crash in Kent. Workmen, having misread the timetable, had removed a rail on a cast iron bridge, leading to a catastrophic derailment.
Seven carriages plunged off the bridge, and while Dickens’s carriage was also derailed, its coupling broke, leaving it precariously suspended. He managed to climb out a window, emerging into a scene of unimaginable horror.
For three hours, Dickens tended to the wounded and dying, offering comfort and brandy from a flask carried in his top hat. His descriptions of the “ruin of the carriages” and the extraordinary suffering were vivid and harrowing. Imagine the resilience and courage required to perform such actions amidst the chaos.
He was so profoundly shaken that he almost forgot the unfinished manuscript of Our Mutual Friend in the wreckage, retrieving it at the last possible moment. The experience left an indelible mark, leading to severe anxiety whenever he traveled by train.
His son, Henry, noted his father’s panic during even slight jolts on trains, clutching the seat with both hands. Mary, his daughter, described an incident where his face turned “ashy pale” with perspiration, forcing them to disembark at the next station. This profound psychological impact has led some to suggest he developed what would now be termed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Never one to waste an experience, Dickens drew upon this disaster, alongside his interest in the paranormal, for his ghost story, The Signalman, featuring a central character with a premonition of his own death in a rail crash. While PTSD is a plausible modern diagnosis, it is also considered that his declining health, marked by peculiar neurological symptoms like difficulty reading the right-hand side of words and hypersensitivity in his left foot, might have been an early sign of a vascular condition that eventually led to his demise.
Final American Tour, Declining Health, and Last Works
Building on the success of his initial American reading tour, Dickens embarked on a second visit to the United States in 1867, sailing from Liverpool to Boston. His schedule was punishing: 76 readings in five months, including 22 at Steinway Hall in New York.
One notable New Year’s Eve reading was attended by a young Mark Twain on his first date with his future wife. Twain’s less reverential account for the Alta California described Dickens as “a tall, spry, thin-legged old gentleman, gotten up regardless of expense, especially as to shirt-front and diamonds, with a bright red flower in his button-hole.”
Twain, however, expressed disappointment with Dickens’s reading style, finding his voice husky and his pathos lacking genuine feeling. He suggested that Dickens’s humor alone could “tickle an audience into ecstasies.” This perception might have been colored by Dickens’s “American catarrh,” a severe cold or influenza that left him in a “faint and shady state,” struggling to eat and too weak to walk.
The physical toll was immense; he often subsisted on champagne and eggs beaten in sherry, returning to Britain utterly exhausted. Despite a brief recovery, he soon embarked on another demanding schedule of lectures across England, Scotland, and Ireland.
His health continued to deteriorate, marked by episodes of dizziness and temporary paralysis. After a minor stroke in April 1869, the remainder of his tour was cancelled on medical advice. Undeterred, he began work on his final, unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, conducting research in the opium dens of East London.
Perhaps sensing time was short, the usual 20 monthly installments for his novels were reduced to 12 for Edwin Drood. His last public appearance was in May 1870, at a Royal Academy banquet, where despite his frailty, he read from A Christmas Carol and The Pickwick Papers.
A month later, after a day of working on Edwin Drood at Gad’s Hill, he suffered another stroke, never regaining consciousness. Charles Dickens passed away the following day.
Legacy, Controversy, and the Man Behind the Myth
Charles Dickens had wished for a private burial at Rochester Cathedral, unostentatious and inexpensive. However, for a man who was arguably the world’s most popular author, such a modest farewell was impossible. He was interred in Westminster Abbey, joining countless kings, queens, and literary giants.
His will, modified a week before his death, made specific provisions for his servants, children, sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth, and long-time friend John Forster. Notably, Miss Ellen Lawless Ternan’s name appeared first, receiving a substantial sum of 1000 pounds, equivalent to approximately 150,000 pounds today. Catherine, his estranged wife, received only a brief mention.
Dickens’s legacy, 150 years after his passing, continues to provoke controversy. His jingoistic comments about the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and claims of anti-Semitism in his portrayal of Fagin in Oliver Twist are frequently debated. Even the erection of his first statue in Britain, in Portsmouth in 2014, drew protests from those who argued he expressly forbade any monument to himself in his will.
Yet, his characters, such as Oliver asking for more or the eternally optimistic Mr. Micawber, remain embedded in the collective unconscious. Some, like Ebenezer Scrooge, have become synonymous with certain traits. His influence extended even into medicine; the “Pickwickian Syndrome,” now known as Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome, was named after Joe from The Pickwick Papers. Imagine the enduring power of his creations that they literally entered medical terminology.
Beyond his literary output, Charles Dickens is deservedly remembered for his relentless efforts in highlighting social injustices like child labor and the lack of education for the poor. His philanthropic endeavors included raising funds for institutions like Urania House and the world-leading Children’s Hospital Great Ormond Street.
The man himself was a bundle of contradictions: kind and sensitive, yet chillingly selfish towards his wife; charming and witty, but also prickly and easily offended. He was generous with his time and money, yet seemingly obsessed with financial security, continuing exhausting reading tours long after he was wealthy.
His immense energy, constant novelty-seeking, and nocturnal long walks have led some developmental disorder specialists to suggest he might have had ADHD. Others have considered Bipolar Affective Disorder due to his high energy. However, it is often argued that he did not exhibit the characteristic cycles of mania and depression, but rather a constant, extraordinary zeal. Imagine the inner world of a man who suffered severe insomnia, pacing London streets for hours, and maintained an unusual nocturnal routine of lying in his bed with his head pointing north, arms outstretched, believing it enhanced his creativity.
Ultimately, Charles Dickens was, as has been suggested, one of the first casualties of celebrity culture. The adulation he received may have inflated his ego, leading him to believe his genius and writing superseded all else, including his family. It is left to posterity to wonder whether he ever regretted his treatment of Catherine, or if he genuinely believed his own narrative of her fault.
Delving Deeper into Dickens’ Later Chapters: Your Questions
Who was Charles Dickens?
Charles Dickens was a very popular and influential 19th-century British writer. He wrote many famous novels and used his writing to highlight social problems of the Victorian era.
What kind of social issues did Charles Dickens care about?
Dickens was passionate about social reform, advocating for better education for the poor and highlighting problems like child labor. He also helped create Urania Cottage, a home for women needing a new start.
Did Charles Dickens travel outside of England?
Yes, Charles Dickens traveled internationally, including a significant trip to Italy. His experiences and observations during this journey inspired his book, *Pictures from Italy*.
What was Urania Cottage?
Urania Cottage was a special home established by Charles Dickens to help “fallen women” get rehabilitation and a new start in life. He personally managed many details of the project.
What was *The Daily News*?
*The Daily News* was a liberal newspaper that Charles Dickens founded in 1846. He used this publication to champion ideas of progress, education, and civil liberties.
