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In the mid-1800s, Charles Dickens was unhappy when a publisher sold obvious hoaxes of his work, but a judge ruled that readers could tell the difference. The publisher went on to build a successful empire, while Dickens’ work remains widely read. Dickens was also known for his heroism, interest in the supernatural, and possibly having epilepsy.
Fan fiction is a big deal today, but in the mid-1800s it was more of a plague than a praise for Charles Dickens. The author of such classics as Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol was greatly displeased when London publisher Edward Lloyd began selling obvious hoaxes of Dickens’ work, with titles such as Oliver Twiss and The Penny Pickwick, at a fraction of the cost of the real thing. The books sold, ostensibly because readers picked them up not knowing the difference, so Dickens went to court, clearly with high expectations of recouping some of his lost profit. But the judge ruled that no one could mistake the real thing for the obvious fraud and dismissed the case, leaving Lloyd to continue printing. As it turned out, Lloyd built a publishing empire on the back of cheap cheating and eventually gave rise to the much-loved “penny dreadful” novels. Dickens’ work, of course, remains one of the most widely read fiction in the world.
An author’s story:
Aged 53, Charles Dickens reportedly helped rescue other passengers when a train they were on derailed, with some cars falling into a river below.
Dickens learned how to hypnotize others and was a member of England’s first ghost hunting organisation, alongside fellow author Arthur Conan Doyle.
Many believe that Dickens was epileptic, in part because many of the characters in his novels suffered from the disease.
