Shortly after that Dickens heard a cry from Mary’s room. The group returned late in the evening and Mary retired for the night. On the evening of May 6th Mary went with the couple to the St. Mary was a favorite with the couple and had become like a little sister to Charles. In 1837 Mary Hogarth was seventeen, pretty and living with her sister Catherine and Catherine’s husband, Charles Dickens. However, in June of 1837 there was no Pickwick. He was writing two serialized novels at once, The Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist. In June of 1837 something happened that only occurred once in Dickens’s career. In his mind, he might have linked Bob Fagin introducing him to the ways of the factory with the other Fagin showing Oliver the correct way to pickpockets. Perhaps Dickens associated the name Fagin with the darker side of life. His shame over the incident made him keep it a secret from all but a few people. The time Dickens spent at the blacking factory was the worst time of his entire life. Why would Dickens remember someone who had shown him such kindness by naming such a villain after him? He even helped Dickens when he was ill at work. He also taught Dickens how to wrap and tie the bottles of polish. In fact, Fagin defended Dickens when the other boys taunted him.
However, unlike some of the others, Bob never teased young Dickens. It was at the blacking factory that Dickens met Bob Fagin.īob was another employee at the factory.
(from the 1892 edition of Forster’s Life of Dickens)
Illustration by Fred Bernard of young Charles Dickens at work in a shoe-blacking factory.
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