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
Catherine Dickens Catherine Dickens Catherine Thomson "Kate" Dickens ("née" Hogarth; 19 May 1815 – 22 November 1879) was the wife of English novelist Charles Dickens, and the mother of his ten children. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1815, Catherine came to England with her family in 1824. She was the eldest daughter of 10 children to George Hogarth. Her father was a journalist for the "Edinburgh Courant", and later became a writer and music critic for the "Morning Chronicle", where Dickens was a young journalist, and later the editor of the "Evening Chronicle". Catherine and Dickens became engaged in 1835 and were