In his younger years, Charles Dickens earned a living doing hard, menial jobs that no one would have wanted to do.

Known for his works A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens is an icon of classical literature. His writings have stood the test of time, and many of his books are still widely loved today. Although his talent is undeniable, these masterpieces hide a formidable wall of secrets. It turns out that this accomplished author had a dark past that you may not have known about.

Born as the second-oldest son of Elizabeth Barrow and John Dickens, an employee in the Royal Navy’s pay office, Dickens grew up in a large family with seven other brothers and sisters. Having so many mouths to feed led to the family’s downfall, as his father was unable to support them on his meager salary. Unfortunately, their financial situation only grew worse over time.

Since his father spent their meager funds without restraint, the Dickens family quickly found themselves in debt. Even after selling all their furniture and household goods, it wasn’t enough. The family was forced to move frequently in hopes of escaping their creditors, but all that came to an end when John Dickens was arrested and sent to Marshalsea Debtors’ Prison in 1824. He was not alone, however: his mother and his four youngest children joined him there.

With most of his family in prison, Dickens found himself left to fend for himself at the age of twelve. He was sent to live with a family friend, Elizabeth Roylance, but his childhood was forever changed. As the new head of the household, he had no time to relax; despite his young age, he was sent to work.

After dropping out of school to help his family, Dickens spent an exhausting year working ten hours a day at Warren’s Blacking Warehouse. Earning a meager six shillings a week, he spent his days sticking labels on shoe-polish jars. It was this trying year that most influenced Dickens’s view of working conditions and the economic situation; it is safe to say that his books would not have been the same without this experience. 

Shortly after his family was imprisoned, Dickens’s grandmother passed away, leaving the family an inheritance of 450 pounds sterling. Despite this loss, it was like a small ray of sunshine during those dark days. Thanks to this unexpected financial windfall, the family was able to pay off its debts and was released from Marshalsea Prison in May 1824. Although this seemed to herald a happy family reunion, that was not the case.

Even though the family had been freed, Dickens’s mother still wanted to see him in chains. Despite his deep hatred for his work at the factory, his mother insisted that Dickens stay. Her desire to keep him at the warehouse earned her a resentment he was never able to overcome. After all, what loving mother would want to keep her son in such horrible conditions?

Finally, after months of difficulties, Dickens was sent back to school in 1827, where he remained for two years. He attended Wellington House Academy in Camden Town, but things did not go as he had hoped. Unable to escape his bad luck, he had a miserable time there. Between mediocre teaching, overly strict conditions, and a “sadistic” headmaster, his return to school was anything but pleasant.

Although he had been forced to leave school three years earlier, Dickens had to abandon his studies once again at the age of fifteen to support his family. This time, however, he enjoyed better working conditions and was hired as a clerk at a law firm. He had no idea that this was actually an unexpected stroke of luck. It was there that he first discovered his talent for writing, learned the Gurney shorthand system, and soon after left to become a freelance journalist.

Dickens may have been very busy with his family, but he wasn’t about to miss out on his own life experiences. In 1830, he experienced something truly remarkable: love at first sight. He fell madly in love with a middle-class woman named Maria Beadnell, but their relationship was short-lived because her family disapproved of his modest social status. Once again, poverty had a negative impact on Dickens’s life. 

Although we all recognize Dickens as a writer of genius, that wasn’t always his dream. Before discovering his potential as a writer, he once dreamed of becoming an actor. Around the age of 20, he developed a passion for the theater and even received an invitation to audition at Covent Garden. But his plans, which seemed within reach, were quickly dashed by a cold that forced him to miss the audition. Dickens had to endure a few setbacks before finding his footing again.

After giving up the theater, Dickens turned to writing. He published his very first short story, “A Dinner at Poplar Walk,” in a London magazine in 1833. During this time, he held various jobs, including that of political journalist for the Morning Chronicle. He also began publishing books, the first of which, titled Sketches by Boz, appeared in 1836. He wrote under a pseudonym for many years because a critic found his name “bizarre.”

During his time at the Morning Chronicle, Dickens became friends with the music critic George Hogarth. He began visiting him regularly at his home and was eventually introduced to Hogarth’s three daughters, Georgina, Mary, and Catherine. Although the pain of losing Beadnell was still relatively fresh, he was quickly drawn to Catherine, this new 19-year-old woman. It was a disaster waiting to happen. 

Shortly after they first met in 1834, Dickens and Hogarth were married in April 1836. Although their marriage began like a fairy tale, they were quickly brought back to reality. With no fewer than ten children, Dickens seemed to be following in his father’s footsteps despite his difficult childhood.

And it wasn’t just the number of children that reminded him of his past; his ability to be a good father was also called into question. Raising so many children is difficult, even for the greatest historical figures. Too focused on his own definition of success, Dickens expected far too much from his children, setting ambitious but unattainable goals for them. Unsurprisingly, he was constantly disappointed.

But everything came crashing down on April 14, 1951, when tragedy struck the Dickens family. Dora Dickens, the second-youngest child, died suddenly after suffering a seizure. It was an unexpected death that deeply shook the family. That evening, Dickens had left the house to attend a special dinner, but when he returned, his beloved 8-month-old daughter was gone. The family never truly recovered, nor did his marriage.

As his attraction to Hogarth waned by the second, Dickens warmly welcomed a chance encounter with Maria Beadnell. Years after their first meeting, they reconnected by mail. After exchanging a few letters, Dickens suggested they meet in secret, despite Maria Beadnell’s warning that she had changed drastically. Now older and heavier, he was no longer attracted to her in the same way. Their brief reunion did not lead to any further relationship.

To make matters worse, while Dickens was still married to his wife in 1857, he fell in love with a young actress named Ellen Ternan, whom he had hired for a play. By that time, his marriage was already in ruins, and his family life was deteriorating as he became increasingly obsessed with this other woman. Hogarth had been completely sidelined.

Unfortunately, Dickens’s hatred for his wife never ceased, reaching such a point that he eventually slandered her in public. In order to have her committed to an asylum so that he could live with Ternan, he claimed that she was an unfit mother and that she suffered from mental illness. The couple officially separated in May 1858 and never reconciled.

And while Dickens’s married life was fraught with difficulties, his darkest secret remains this: his secret obsession with his sister-in-law, Mary Hogarth. Their “friendly” relationship began when he started courting Catherine, but it continued throughout their marriage. Dickens was devastated when Mary died unexpectedly. He spent the rest of his life wearing a ring he had taken from her finger and carrying a lock of her hair with him everywhere he went.