ACC - Background Information - Notes
Charles Dickens
1. Born in 1812
2. Died in 1870
3. At age 12 he had
to work in a shoe
blackening factory
because his father
was in debtor's
prison.
4. He wrote about
what he heard and
saw in English
society
5. He is considered
a reformist writer.
6. He wrote about
the bad things in
society so that
change would occur
and improve life for
the poor and
mistreated.
7. He was married
and had ten
children.
8. He was a wellknown and
profitable author
during his lifetime.
9. Works:
Oliver Twist
A Tale of Two Cities
David Copperfield
Hard Times
Bleak House
Great Expectations
The Pickwick Papers
The Cricket on the
Hearth
A Christmas Carol
The Industrial
Revolution
1. steam power
replaces man,
animal, and wind
power
2. machines to do
work once done by
man or animals
3. England changed
from an agricultural
society to an
industrial society.
4. major air and
water pollution
5. people moved
from the country to
the city to work in
the factories for low
pay and long hours
6. created slum
areas in cities where
industry was located
7. children as young
as four worked in
factories
8. factories were
dangerous - many
people injured or
killed
The Victorian
Age
1. named for
Queen Victoria
2. London was
largest city in
England - was
dirty and
crowded
3. most people
worked in
factories for 12
hours a day for
pennies a day
4. a time when
the rich became
richer, and the
poor became
poorer
5. living
conditions for
the poor were
cramped, filthy,
rat-infested
6. 90% of
people were
poor (mainly
factory workers)
7. 5% were
middle class craftsmen and
merchants
8. 5% were
wealthylandowner and
factory owners
Workhouses and
Poorhouses
1. people
were sent
there for
minor crimes
and for not
paying debts
2. terrible
places
people were
mistreated,
overworked
and underfed
3. cold and
damp
4. same as
prisons
5. people
would pay off
debts by
working each
day
6. orphans
were sent to
workhouses
to pay for
their food
and shelter
7. 49,000
children
under the
age of 16
were in
workhouses
during the
1800s
8. people
who could
not support
themselves
could also go
there, but
most would
rather live on
the streets