6. Charles Dickens’ father spent time in debtor’s prisons
Charles Dickens was the second-oldest child of John and Elizabeth Dickens. In 1824 John Dickens, after the sale of all of his household furnishings failed to generate enough cash to pay a debt, entered Marshalsea Prison. Elizabeth and the four youngest Dickens children had little choice but to join him there. Twelve-year-old Charles Dickens became the de facto head of the family and its principal breadwinner, leaving school and taking a job. Dickens earned six shillings per week, pasting labels on pots of boot polish. He worked ten hours per day, six days per week. He lived in a run-down boarding house run by a Mrs. Roylance.
Several characters and names used in later novels came from this time, including Fagin, and Mrs. Roylance (Mrs. Pipchen from Dombey and Son). Dickens based the character of Mr. MacCawber in David Copperfield on his own father. John Dickens gained his release when his mother died, leaving him an inheritance of 450 pounds. Charles remained in his position pasting labels on pots for some time before returning to his education. His father’s first stint in debtor’s prison (he returned several years later, again broke) shaped much of the future novelist’s societal views and desires for reform. Dickens toiled for the elimination of jailing of persons for debt in the United Kingdom for decades.