Friday, March 30, 2012

Rochester, Charles Dickens, Kent

Charles Dickens and Rochester

Rochester was founded by the Romans in some 53 AD, but often that would have been on a site earlier used by others.  Charles Dickens' moved there when he was a child, and his father was struggling to support the family.  He, the father, was constantly in debt, and in and out of debtors' prisons until he lucked out on one job -- found his employer a cheat -- blew the whistle, and then could move elsewhere for a fresh start.   The senior Mr. Dickens was the model for Mr. Micawber, one of the characters in Great Expectations.
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Joseph Clayton Clarke illustrated much of Dickens, here Mr. Micawber,  fair use.  Smithsonian magazine has a fine article on Dickens, at Going Mad for Charles Dickenshttp://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Going-Mad-for-Charles-Dickens.html
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Mr. Micawber, from David Copperfield:

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Our additional Kyd illustrations are still framed, so a little dark.  Enjoy!
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The Artful Dodger, from Oliver Twist:
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Sam Weller, from The Pickwick Papers:

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Uriah Heep, from David Copperfield:
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Mr. Pickwick, from The Pickwick Papers:
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Charles Dickens' life was complex, as anyone's.  Meet Ellen "Nelly" Ternan, at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Dickens-Secret-Affair.html?onsite_source=relatedarticles&onsite_medium=internallink&onsite_campaign=SmithMag&onsite_content=Dickens'Secret Affair