Charles Dickens

George Silverman's Explanation Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is considered one of the greatest English authors of all time. Dickens often used the pen name Boz. Much of his work first appeared in periodicals and magazines in serialized form. Unlike many writers of his time Dickens wrote the entire novel before serializing it. He made frequent use of the cliffhanger to keep the public interested. An excerpt from George Silverman's Explanation reads, "My parents were in a miserable condition of life, and my infant home was a cellar in Preston. I recollect the sound of father's Lancashire clogs on the street pavement above, as being different in my young hearing from the sound of all other clogs; and I recollect, that, when mother came down the cellar-steps, I used tremblingly to speculate on her feet having a good or an ill- tempered look, - on her knees, - on her waist, - until finally her face came into view, and settled the question. From this it will be seen that I was timid, and that the cellar-steps were steep, and that the doorway was very low."