Elizabeth Dickens
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Culliford Dickens (21 December 1789 – 13 September 1863) was the wife of John Dickens
and the mother of English
novelist
Charles Dickens
. She was the source for Mrs. Nickleby in her son's novel Nicholas Nickleby and for Mrs Micawber in David Copperfield
.
. When John Dickens first met Elizabeth she was "a small pretty girl of about sixteen, with bright hazel eyes, an inordinate sense of the ludicrous, and remarkable powers of comic mimicry, cheerful, sweet-tempered, and well educated". In 1810 Elizabeth's father, who also worked for the Navy Pay Office as Chief Conductor of Monies in Town, was found guilty of embezzling
£5,689 3s 3d
and fled to the Continent
, turning up thirteen years later in the Isle of Man
. Elizabeth married John Dickens on 13 June 1809 in the church of St Mary-le-Strand
in London. Shortly after the marriage the couple moved to Landport
in Portsmouth
and here Charles Dickens
, the second of their eight children, was born in 1812. As a young boy he was taught to read by his mother, and later also a little Latin
, awakening, as Charles later told his friend and biographer
John Forster "his first desire for knowledge and his earliest passion for reading". According to Mary Weller, the Dickens' servant when they were living in Chatham, Elizabeth Dickens was "a dear, good mother and a fine woman".
By 1823 her husband had fallen heavily into debt and Elizabeth, like Mrs Micawber in David Copperfield
, tried to help his financial situation by setting up a school called 'Mrs Dickens's Establishment' in Gower Street
in London; this despite the fact that she had no experience in teaching or administering a school. Unsurprisingly, no pupils materialized. As Charles Dickens later wrote, "Nobody ever came to the school, nor do I recollect that anybody ever proposed to come, or that the least preparation was made to receive anybody." To help support the family financially the 12 year old Charles Dickens, to his great humiliation, was taken from school to work at Warren's Blacking Factory where his wages were 6s a week. On 20 February 1824 John Dickens was imprisoned in the Marshalsea Prison
for debt, with Elizabeth Dickens and their four youngest children joining her husband there in April 1824. John Dickens was released after three months, on 28 May 1824, on the death of his paternal grandmother who had left him the sum of £450 in her will, allowing him to clear his debt.
When John Dickens was released from prison Charles' mother did not immediately remove him from the boot-blacking factory which was owned by a relation of hers, James Lamert. However, a disagreement between John Dickens and Joseph Lamert, Charles' employer, resulted in his being removed from the blacking factory. Elizabeth Dickens did all she could to patch up the quarrel so that her son could return to work; John Dickens, however, insisted that his son should return to school. For the rest of his life Charles never forgave his mother for wanting to keep him in the factory.
Charles Dickens was educated at Wellington House Academy until 1827 when his father again fell into debt and could not pay his school fees nor the those of his sister Fanny at the Royal Academy of Music
. At this time Elizabeth Dickens met Edward Blackmore, a young solicitor
and a partner in the law firm of Ellis and Blackmore. When Blackmore thought the 15 year old Charles Dickens "exceedingly good looking and clever" she persuaded him to take her son on as a law clerk.
By the early 1840s Elizabeth Dickens had grown into a stout matriarch 'with some affectations of youthfulness, particularly [in] the "juvenility of her dress" and her semicomic confusions of speech'. Her son described her wardrobe as 'the attempt "of middle-aged mutton to dress itself lamb fashion"'.
frequently embarrassed his son by seeking loans from Charles' friends and publishers behind his back, and by selling pages from his son's early manuscripts. Concerned about his father's financial problems, in 1839 Charles Dickens rented a cottage for his parents far from London, and, as he thought, far from temptation, at Alphington
in Devon
. However, John Dickens merely continued to write to Charles' friends and publishers asking for money. Charles received an "unsatisfactory epistle from Mother" and both parents wrote him "hateful, sneering letters", feeling that he had exiled them. "I do swear," Charles complained, "I am sick at heart with both her and father too." In 1842 John and Elizabeth Dickens returned to London and eventually Charles was reconciled with his parents.
By early 1860 Elizabeth Dickens had become senile, probably incontinent
and in need of constant attention. Her son Charles took responsibility for her care and support. The death of her younger son Alfred in August 1860 was beyond her understanding. Charles later wrote, "My mother, who was also left to me when my father died (I never had anything left to me but relations), is in the strangest state of mind from senile decay; and the impossibility of getting her to understand what is the matter, combined with her desire to be got up in sables like a female Hamlet, illumines the dreary scene with a ghastly absurdity that is the chief relief I can find in it." In her last years she became increasingly like Charles' portrait of her as Nicholas Nickleby's mother. Charles hired Alfred's widow to mind and take care of his mother.
". She is buried with her husband in Highgate Cemetery
. For her gravestone her son Charles Dickens wrote the impassionate epitaph
"HERE ALSO LIE THE REMAINS OF ELIZABETH DICKENS WHO DIED SEPTEMBER 12TH 1863 AGED 73 YEARS".
.
John Dickens
John Dickens was the father of English novelist Charles Dickens and was the model for Mr Micawber in his son's semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield.-Biography:...
and the mother of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
novelist
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
. She was the source for Mrs. Nickleby in her son's novel Nicholas Nickleby and for Mrs Micawber in David Copperfield
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
.
Early years and marriage
One of ten children of Charles Barrow (1759–1826) and Mary Culliford (1771–1851), Elizabeth Barrow was introduced to John Dickens by her brother, Thomas Culliford Barrow, when the two men were working at the Navy Pay Office in nearby Somerset HouseSomerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
. When John Dickens first met Elizabeth she was "a small pretty girl of about sixteen, with bright hazel eyes, an inordinate sense of the ludicrous, and remarkable powers of comic mimicry, cheerful, sweet-tempered, and well educated". In 1810 Elizabeth's father, who also worked for the Navy Pay Office as Chief Conductor of Monies in Town, was found guilty of embezzling
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
£5,689 3s 3d
Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
The penny of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, was in circulation from the early 18th century until February 1971, Decimal Day....
and fled to the Continent
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, turning up thirteen years later in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. Elizabeth married John Dickens on 13 June 1809 in the church of St Mary-le-Strand
St Mary-le-Strand
St. Mary le Strand is a Church of England church at the eastern end of the Strand in the City of Westminster, London. It lies within the Deanery of Westminster within the Diocese of London. The church stands on what is now a traffic island to the north of Somerset House, King's College London's...
in London. Shortly after the marriage the couple moved to Landport
Landport
Landport is a district located near the centre of Portsea Island and is part of the city of Portsmouth, England.The district contains the main shopping area for Portsmouth. Before World War II the district was also a residential area, mainly catering for employees of the naval dockyard and their...
in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
and here Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, the second of their eight children, was born in 1812. As a young boy he was taught to read by his mother, and later also a little Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, awakening, as Charles later told his friend and biographer
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
John Forster "his first desire for knowledge and his earliest passion for reading". According to Mary Weller, the Dickens' servant when they were living in Chatham, Elizabeth Dickens was "a dear, good mother and a fine woman".
Marshalsea Prison
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
, tried to help his financial situation by setting up a school called 'Mrs Dickens's Establishment' in Gower Street
Gower Street (London)
Gower Street is a street in Bloomsbury, Central London, England, running between Euston Road to the north and Montague Place to the south.North Gower Street is a separate street running north of the Euston Road...
in London; this despite the fact that she had no experience in teaching or administering a school. Unsurprisingly, no pupils materialized. As Charles Dickens later wrote, "Nobody ever came to the school, nor do I recollect that anybody ever proposed to come, or that the least preparation was made to receive anybody." To help support the family financially the 12 year old Charles Dickens, to his great humiliation, was taken from school to work at Warren's Blacking Factory where his wages were 6s a week. On 20 February 1824 John Dickens was imprisoned in the Marshalsea Prison
Marshalsea
The Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of "unnatural crimes", political figures and intellectuals accused of...
for debt, with Elizabeth Dickens and their four youngest children joining her husband there in April 1824. John Dickens was released after three months, on 28 May 1824, on the death of his paternal grandmother who had left him the sum of £450 in her will, allowing him to clear his debt.
When John Dickens was released from prison Charles' mother did not immediately remove him from the boot-blacking factory which was owned by a relation of hers, James Lamert. However, a disagreement between John Dickens and Joseph Lamert, Charles' employer, resulted in his being removed from the blacking factory. Elizabeth Dickens did all she could to patch up the quarrel so that her son could return to work; John Dickens, however, insisted that his son should return to school. For the rest of his life Charles never forgave his mother for wanting to keep him in the factory.
Charles Dickens was educated at Wellington House Academy until 1827 when his father again fell into debt and could not pay his school fees nor the those of his sister Fanny at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. At this time Elizabeth Dickens met Edward Blackmore, a young solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
and a partner in the law firm of Ellis and Blackmore. When Blackmore thought the 15 year old Charles Dickens "exceedingly good looking and clever" she persuaded him to take her son on as a law clerk.
By the early 1840s Elizabeth Dickens had grown into a stout matriarch 'with some affectations of youthfulness, particularly [in] the "juvenility of her dress" and her semicomic confusions of speech'. Her son described her wardrobe as 'the attempt "of middle-aged mutton to dress itself lamb fashion"'.
Later years
When Charles Dickens gained fame as a writer John DickensJohn Dickens
John Dickens was the father of English novelist Charles Dickens and was the model for Mr Micawber in his son's semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield.-Biography:...
frequently embarrassed his son by seeking loans from Charles' friends and publishers behind his back, and by selling pages from his son's early manuscripts. Concerned about his father's financial problems, in 1839 Charles Dickens rented a cottage for his parents far from London, and, as he thought, far from temptation, at Alphington
Alphington, Devon
Alphington is a suburb of the City of Exeter in southwest England. The ward of Alphington has a population of 8250 according to the 2001 census, making it the third largest in Exeter, with the village itself accounting for about a quarter of this figure...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. However, John Dickens merely continued to write to Charles' friends and publishers asking for money. Charles received an "unsatisfactory epistle from Mother" and both parents wrote him "hateful, sneering letters", feeling that he had exiled them. "I do swear," Charles complained, "I am sick at heart with both her and father too." In 1842 John and Elizabeth Dickens returned to London and eventually Charles was reconciled with his parents.
By early 1860 Elizabeth Dickens had become senile, probably incontinent
Urinary incontinence
Urinary incontinence is any involuntary leakage of urine. It is a common and distressing problem, which may have a profound impact on quality of life. Urinary incontinence almost always results from an underlying treatable medical condition but is under-reported to medical practitioners...
and in need of constant attention. Her son Charles took responsibility for her care and support. The death of her younger son Alfred in August 1860 was beyond her understanding. Charles later wrote, "My mother, who was also left to me when my father died (I never had anything left to me but relations), is in the strangest state of mind from senile decay; and the impossibility of getting her to understand what is the matter, combined with her desire to be got up in sables like a female Hamlet, illumines the dreary scene with a ghastly absurdity that is the chief relief I can find in it." In her last years she became increasingly like Charles' portrait of her as Nicholas Nickleby's mother. Charles hired Alfred's widow to mind and take care of his mother.
Death
Elizabeth Dickens died on 13 September 1863. At that time she was described as "hopelessly senileDementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
". She is buried with her husband in Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a cemetery located in north London, England. It is designated Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. It is divided into two parts, named the East and West cemetery....
. For her gravestone her son Charles Dickens wrote the impassionate epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
"HERE ALSO LIE THE REMAINS OF ELIZABETH DICKENS WHO DIED SEPTEMBER 12TH 1863 AGED 73 YEARS".
Legacy
Charles Dickens used his mother as the source for the vain, ineffectual and verbally comic Mrs. Nickleby in his novel Nicholas Nickleby and for Mrs Micawber in David CopperfieldDavid Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
.
Children
- Frances (Fanny) Elizabeth Dickens (1810–1848)
- Charles John Huffam DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
- Letitia Dickens (1816–1893)
- Harriet Dickens (1819–1824)
- Frederick DickensFrederick DickensFrederick William Dickens was the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens and was Charles Dickens' younger brother, who lived with Charles when he moved on to Furnival's Inn in 1834...
- Alfred Lamert Dickens
- Augustus Newnham DickensAugustus DickensAugustus Newnham Dickens was the youngest brother of English novelist Charles Dickens, and the inspiration for his pen name 'Boz'...