Mary Angela Dickens Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Angela Dickens
Mary Angela Dickens in about 1900
Born	31 October 1862 Kensington, Middlesex, England
Died	7 February 1948(1948-02-07) (aged 85) Hitchin, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Novelist
Known for	Oldest grandchild of novelist Charles Dickens
Parent(s)	Charles Dickens Jr. (father)
Signature

Mary Angela Dickens (born October 31, 1862 – died February 7, 1948) was an English writer. She wrote novels and worked as a journalist. She lived during the late Victorian era and Edwardian era. Mary Angela Dickens was the oldest grandchild of the famous novelist Charles Dickens. She passed away on the 136th anniversary of her grandfather's birthday.

Mary Angela Dickens: Her Early Life
Mary Angela Dickens: Her Writing Career
Mary Angela Dickens: Later Life and Legacy
Selected Publications
Images for kids
See also

Mary Angela Dickens: Her Early Life

Mary Angela Dickens was born in London. She was named after her aunt, Mary Dickens. She was the first of eight children born to Charles Dickens, Jr. and Elisabeth Matilda Moule Dickens. Her grandfather was the very famous writer Charles Dickens. Her other grandfather, Frederick Mullett Evans, was a publisher who worked with Charles Dickens.

Mary Angela Dickens was also the niece of a well-known lawyer and judge, Sir Henry Fielding Dickens. Her aunt, Kate Perugini, was a painter. Mary Angela was baptized on December 19, 1862. This happened at St Mark's church in St Pancras, London.

In the Dickens family, she was called 'Mekitty'. As a child, she called her grandfather 'Venerables'. Mary Angela and Charles Dickens were very close. Once, she burned her leg and foot with boiling water. This happened while she was staying at his country home, Gads Hill Place. Her grandfather sat by her bed. He held her hand and told her he would make her well.

As a child, she went to hear Dickens read his story A Christmas Carol. This was one of his last public readings. Later in life, she remembered being shocked. She saw her grandfather crying over the death of Tiny Tim. She later wrote about how strange it was to see her grandfather cry. She had never seen an adult cry before. It made her feel very confused and upset.

After Charles Dickens died, her father bought Gads Hill. Mary Angela and her brothers and sisters lived there. But in 1879, her father had money problems. He had to sell Gads Hill Place.

Mary Angela Dickens: Her Writing Career

When Charles Dickens died, her father took over his magazine. It was called All the Year Round. Mary Angela Dickens published some of her first stories there. She wrote several popular novels in the 1890s. These books were often emotional and dramatic. Some of her well-known works include Cross Currents (1891), A Mere Cypher (1893), and A Valiant Ignorance (1894). She also wrote Prisoners of Silence (1895).

Later, she wrote Against the Tide (1897) and On the Edge of a Precipice (1899). She also created books for children. These books were based on her grandfather's famous novels. Examples include Children's Stories from Dickens (1893) and Dickens' Dream Children (1926). These books had pictures drawn by Harold Copping.

A special copy of her Children's Stories from Dickens was once owned by Eleanor Roosevelt. This copy was from a limited edition of 500 books. It was signed by Mary Angela and four other granddaughters of Charles Dickens. It was sold at an auction in New York in 2001.

Around the early 1900s, her style of writing became less popular. By about 1916, she stopped writing new novels. However, her children's books, based on her grandfather's stories, remained popular for a long time.

Mary Angela Dickens: Later Life and Legacy

In her later years, Mary Angela Dickens lived in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. She lived with her cousin, Margaret Alice Moule.

Mary Angela Dickens died at age 85 on February 7, 1948. This was the same day as her grandfather Charles Dickens's birthday. She never got married. When she died, she left money to her cousin, Margaret Dickens Whinney. She was buried in Hitchin Cemetery. Her grave is next to Margaret Alice Moule's grave.