History is boring? Well think again. This piece of history and literature by Charles Dickens provides a fast-paced, relevant, exciting history with witty observations and compelling narrative, which will capture a child’s (and parents) imagination. It’s an absolutely fascinating treasure trove to delve in to. This spectacular new edition has been carefully edited and lightly abridged to ensure that children in the 21st century will gain as much and more from it than those who read it 150 years before.
This is a captivating history of England for children from one of the best-loved novelists of all time. Written just after David Copperfield, at the same time as "Bleak House", and in the engaging and conversational style typical of his most celebrated fiction, Dickens' "History of England for Children" is an undiscovered treasure trove of a book. This carefully selected, lightly abridged version shows traditional storytelling at its best. Dickens' lovable theatricality, witty observations and compelling narrative give children access to one of England's greatest writers, and to some of the most powerful stories from its past. For adults, it offers an engaging reminder of the English history we ought to know: who was Hereward the Wake, how was it that Thomas a Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral, and was Canute really trying to stop the tide? Interesting, informative and accessible, "A Child's History of England" takes its reader on a fascinating journey, from Ancient England and the Romans to Victoria's reign and Dickens' own lifetime.
Charles Dickens was born in Landport, Hampshire, during the new industrial age, which gave birth to theories of Karl Marx. Dickens's father was a clerk in the navy pay office. He was well paid but often ended in financial troubles. In 1814 Dickens moved to London, and then to Chatham, where he received some education. The schoolmaster William Giles gave special attention to Dickens, who made rapid progress. In 1824, at the age of 12, Dickens was sent to work for some months at a blacking factory, Hungerford Market, London, while his father John was in Marshalea debtor's prison. "My father and mother were quite satisfied," Dickens later recalled bitterly. "They could hardly have been more so, if I had been twenty years of age, distinguished at a grammar-school, and going to Cambridge." Later this period found its way to the novel LITTLE DORRITT (1855-57). John Dickens paid his £40 debt with the money he inherited from his mother; she died at the age of seventy-nine when he was still in prison.
