Dickens: public life and private passion. Peter Ackroyd. 2002.

In this stunning biography, Peter Ackroyd introduces us to the public and private life of one of Britain's best-loved literary giants, Charles Dickens.

Dickens’s own story is one of rags to riches; from bankruptcy prison and enforced child labour in his youth to a life of fame and fortune in adulthood, yet one that that was overshadowed by guilt and secrecy. His life seems to echo the plots of his epic novels: indeed he was strongly influenced by personal experience and his stories brim with references to the places and characters he knew and the preoccupations that haunted his mind.

At a remarkably young age, Dickens achieved the public respectability, wealth and international fame he had craved during his impoverished childhood. However, his road to personal happiness was a far less successful one. Scarred by the memory of his father’s bankruptcy, he experienced continual anxieties over money and he often found himself supporting members of his family financially. Dickens, a writer who celebrated domestic harmony and familial affection in his work, had also to brave the shame of public anger when he separated from his wife of over twenty years for his secret mistress, Ellen Ternan.

As a strong supporter of social reform, Dickens’s writings frequently addressed issues of contemporary concern. In Dickens - Life and Private Passion, Peter Ackroyd highlights the reality of life in the Victorian era  and the great landmarks and events of the time, all of which were to be profound influences on Dickens’s life and work.