A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on February 7, 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished. George Woodcock was born in Winnipeg, Canada on May 8, 1912. He was educated in England, and returned to Canada in 1949. He was a poet, critic, and essayist. During his lifetime, he wrote and edited almost 150 books. His works included Anarchism, The Anarchist Reader, The Crystal Spirit, and Canada and the Canadians. He was the founding editor of Canadian Literature, the first journal to look solely at Canada's literary world. He also founded the anarchist literary journal Now in 1940. He died from coronary problems on January 28, 1995 at the age of 82.