Familiar name,unfamiliar facts!
Of all English writers, Charles Dickens is hailed as the most lovable. His books never grow
dust in the shelves; neither do they ever get out of print. Hardly there exists a single
English knowing man who is not familiar with Dickens’ Oliver or David. Yet, there exists so
many fantastic things associated with the life and works of this simple Victorian that read
like fairy tales. He had epilepsy and he believed in mesmerism. He had superstition yet he
hated superstitions of the Victorian world. He had a near-photographic memory. He was a
good magician and a superb comic actor. He was afraid of bats and hated the game of
croquet. Dickens was interested in the paranormal. He was a member of The Ghost Club.
He created altogether 989 characters. Most of his characters were Londoners.
The word ‘Dickens’: The very name ‘Dickens’ is a curse word invented by Shakespeare. It
was a euphemism for 'devil'. As it was a vulgarity to say, “What the devil?” people used to
exclaim, “What the dickens?” The first usage of that word, according to the Oxford English
Dictionary, was in William Shakespeare’s ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’. Shakespeare
invented words whenever he didn’t find any word in his language. ‘Dickensian’ means
squalid, grim and poverty-stricken.
The £10 ‘Bank of England’ and Charles Dickens.: The first Bank of England Ten Pound
notes was issued in 1759. It was white and printed only on one side, with no pictures. The
Bank of England Ten Pound notes (Series C) was first issued in 1964 and featured Queen
Elizabeth II on the front with a lion on the reverse. The Bank of England Ten Pound note
(Series D) was first issued in 1975 and featured Queen Elizabeth II on the front with
Florence Nightingale (nurse, writer and statistician) on the reverse. The Bank of England
Ten Pound note (Series E) was first issued in 1992 and featured Queen Elizabeth II on the
front with Charles Dickens (novelist) on the reverse. The Bank of England Ten Pound note
(Series E - revised) was next issued in 1993 and features Queen Elizabeth II on the front
with Charles Dickens (novelist) on the reverse. The current Bank of England Ten Pound
note (Series E - revised) was next issued in 2002 and features Queen Elizabeth II on the
front with Charles Darwin (naturalist) on the reverse.
It ceased to be legal tender on 31 July 2003.Designed by Roger Withington; the multicoloured note had Charles Dickens portrayed on reverse.
Jane Austen will be the next face of the note, replacing Charles Darwin, probably in 2017.
The 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens celebrated with a new £2 coin from
the Royal Mint. Artist Matthew Dent has arranged well known titles from Dickens’ novels
to create a unique portrait of the author, literally in his own words. From his Sketches by
Boz, to his last and unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The coin is a uniquely
styled bibliography of Dickens’ literary masterpieces, referencing much loved classics
including David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol.
On the edge of the coin is an inscription which features the quotation “Something Will Turn
Up” spoken by the ever optimistic Wilkins Micawber in David Copperfield.
Dickens’ Raven: Dickens kept a pet raven named Grip. He loved it so much that he had
stuffed it at its death in 1841. Certainly no bird in history contributed more to literature
then this talkative raven. It inspired the prose of both Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan
Poe.
Grip was a beloved pet of Dickens. The author inserted the blabbing raven as a character in
his 1841 serialized mystery novel, Barnaby Rudge. We know that Poe reviewed Barnaby
Rudge and commented on the use of the talking raven, feeling the bird should have loomed
larger in the plot. Literary experts surmise that the talking raven of Barnaby Rudge
inspired Poe's most famous poem, ‘The Raven’, published in 1845. When Grip died in 1841,
Dickens had the bird mounted.
Dickens’ neologism: Dickens was a great neologist. He coined or created 258 new words and
a large number of new usages of English words. The Oxford English Dictionary credits him
with the first use of butter-fingers, crossfire, dustbin, fairy story, slow-coach, and whoosh,
cheesiness, fluffiness and the use of the verbs “to mother-in-law”, “to manslaughter” and “to
towel”. In Tale of Two Cities, he mentions “Husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant
drops of oil,” which is the earliest reference to potato chips or ‘french-fry. He also gets the
credit for ‘boredom’ in the Oxford English Dictionary, coined in his novel Bleak House
(1852-3), but this has since been traced back even earlier, to 1830.
As lexicographer Ben Zimmer notes in an engaging and insightful article, the OED lists 258
first-citations (first recorded use) for new words by Dickens, and 1,586 first-citations for the
new sense of a word (eg, turning nouns into verbs) by Dickens.
The only novel by Dickens that includes the word “kangaroo” is David Copperfield. And
Martin Chuzzlewit is the only novel by Charles Dickens that mentions ‘beetroot’. It is also
his only novel to include the word “zoo”.
Dickens’ Toothpick: in 2009, an ivory toothpick once used by Charles Dickens was sold at
an auction for $9,000. Made of ivory and gold, the implement is engraved with Dickens’s
initials. It was originally expected to fetch $3,000-$5,000, but the final sale was for a
whopping $9,150 (£5,625). An authentication letter written by Dickens’s sister-in-law
indicates that Dickens used the toothpick up to his death in 1870.
The ivory and rose gold toothpick of Charles Dickens.
The handle of the toothpick is a hollow pillar of ivory. The gold toothpick is held within this
and extends and retracts by sliding a gold button on the side. This is exactly the same style
of toothpick as used by Charles Darwin and the last picture shows the one used by him
which was sold at auction in New York in Dec 2009. It dates to circa 1850.
A Christmas Carol: The publishing of A Christmas Carol (1843) came around the same time
as the widespread use of Christmas trees (1841) and the first Christmas card (1843). The
original title of the book was: A Christmas Carol in Prose: Being a Ghost Story of
Christmas.
While best known for A Christmas Carol, Dickens actually wrote five books about
Christmas: The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted
Man and the Ghost's Bargain, as well as A Christmas Carol. They were all published
between 1843-1848. A Christmas Carol was written by hand and a typesetter would have
had to make sense of Charles Dickens’ crossings out and spelling mistakes before making
the books.
There have been more than 20 film versions of A Christmas Carol including versions
starring The Muppets, Barbie, Mickey Mouse and Mr Magoo. One of the morals in A
Christmas Carol is ‘To live our lives in a way that benefits others as well as ourselves’.
A Tale of Two Cities: At the time of writing ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ he required to have some
knowledge on French Revolution. He requested his friend Carlyle to send him a few books
on the topic. Carlyle sent cart load of books to Dickens along with his own magnum opus
‘French Revolution’. Dickens picked up only his friend’s book and studied it properly. It is
said that he used to keep it in the pocket of his over-coat till he finished the novel.
Superstitious Dickens: Dickens suffered from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and had a
tendency to touch objects three times “for luck” and combed his hair hundreds of times a
day. He used to sleep facing north, believing it would improve his writing and help to battle
insomnia. When he travelled, he would carry a compass with him and move his bed around
so it was correctly aligned. He also liked to face north while writing, believing it aided his
creativity. He had a habit of standing in front of the mirror.
He did not want to be buried in Westminster Abbey. But there was such a public outcry on
the issue that he was buried in poet’s corner “against his wishes”.
Cliff-Hanger: When The Old Curiosity Shop was published in serial form in 1841, readers
all over Britain and the United States followed the progress of the heroine, Little Nell, with
the same fervor that audiences today follow Harry Potter. When the ship carrying the last
installment approached the dock in New York, 6,000 impatient fans onshore called out to
the sailors, "Does Little Nell die?" (They yelled back that ... uh-oh, we're out of room.)
Dickens’ characters: Dickens was a great character creator. He created altogether 989 alive
characters; next only to Shakespeare. All his characters were picked out from London
streets of his time. They were photographic.
Dickensian ego: He did not want statues or monuments erected in his name. He wanted to
be remembered for his works. But that does not mean that he had no ego. He often referred
himself as ‘the Sparkler of Albion’ – a reference to Shakespeare’s nickname as the ‘Bard of
Avon’. Albion is the oldest name of the island of Great Britain.
[1565 words]
Reference & links:i.www.express.co.uk
ii. www.interestingliterature.com
iii.www. primaryfacts.com
iv. www.huffingtonpost.com
v.www. arts.nationalpost.com
vi.www. biggerbooks.tumblr.com
vii. ttps://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid
Compiled and edited by:Indranil Sarkar
Sapatgram, Assam
E-mail: indranil49@hotmail.com