![]() He boarded with a sympathetic family friend named Elizabeth Roylance, who later inspired the character Mrs. Eventually, John was sent to prison for debt in 1824, when Charles was just 12 years old. By then, the family’s financial situation had grown dire, as Charles’ father had a dangerous habit of living beyond the family’s means. In 1822, the Dickens family moved to Camden Town, a poor neighborhood in London. He compensated by reading avidly, including such books as Robinson Crusoe, Tom Jones, Peregrine Pickle, and The Arabian Nights, according to The World of Charles Dickens by Fido Martin. Dickens was a sickly child and prone to spasms, which prevented him from playing sports. In 1816, they moved to Chatham, Kent, where young Dickens and his siblings were free to roam the countryside and explore the old castle at Rochester. Despite his parents’ best efforts, the family remained poor but nevertheless happy in the early days. He was the second of eight children born to John Dickens, a naval clerk who dreamed of striking it rich, and Elizabeth Barrow, who aspired to be a teacher and school director.
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