Charles Dickens and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term "Dickensian" is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 1812, at 1 Mile End Terrace (now 393 Commercial Road), Landport in Portsea Island (Portsmouth), the second of eight children of Elizabeth Dickens (née Barrow; 1789–1863) and John Dickens (1785–1851). His father was a clerk in the
Portsmouth and District Magic Circle Portsmouth and District Magic Circle The Portsmouth and District Magic Circle (PDMC) is a magicians' society based in Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. It is one of the largest magic societies in the UK with nearly 100 members. The society was founded in 1938 at a meeting in the Talbot Hotel in Portsmouth. Amongst its founding members were the close-up magician Lewis Ganson and the master illusionist Will Ayling, author of "The Art of Illusion" and "Oriental Conjuring and Magic". Another early member was the engineer and illusionist Donald Stevenson who worked for the American magician William Ellsworth