Welcome to our website celebrating the work of novelist Jane Austen. Her novel Pride and Prejudice is two hundred years old on 28 January 2013

What do you know about Sherlock Holmes?

We’ll discover about the most famous detective by working on the following webquest:

Sherlock Holmes Webquest Questions

Here you have the activity page related to Sherlock Holmes

Oliver Twist is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who lives a miserable existence in a workhouse. He escapes and travels to London where he meets Artful Dodger (leader of a gang of pickpockets) and the criminal trainer Fagin.

Oliver Twist is well known for Dickens’ unromantic description of criminals and their sordid lives. The book calls the public’s attention to various contemporary evils, including the Poor Law, child labour and the recruitment of children as criminals. It is likely that Dickens’s own early youth as a child labourer contributed to the story’s development.

Oliver Twist has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations.

RELATE THE CHARACTERS TO THEIR DESCRIPTIONS:

Oliver Twist
Fagin
Nancy
Mr Brownlow
Bill Sikes
Mr Bumble
The Artful Dodger
Charley Bates
Toby Crackit
Mrs Bedwin
Noah Claypole
Mr Sowerberry
Mrs Sowerberry

a) The cleverest of Fagin’s young pickpockets. He talks and dresses like a grown man.
b) A brutal professional burglar brought up in Fagin’s gang
c) An orphan born in a workhouse
d) One of Fagin’s pickpockets
e) A criminal who trains homeless children to pick pockets
f) Mr Sowerberry’s mean wife
g) A well-off gentleman who is Oliver’s first benefactor
h) One of Fagin and Sikes’associates, crass and not too bright
i) Mr Brownlow’s kindhearted housekeeper
j) The undertaker to whom Oliver is apprenticed
k) A pompous beadle who symbolizes self-righteousness, greed, hypocrisy and folly
l) A charity boy who bullies and mistreats Oliver
m) A young prostitute and Bill Sikes’lover

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We are proud to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’s birth (Portsmouth, February 7, 1812) with a selection of activities which explore the life and works of a true great of English literature.
The books of Charles Dickens have sold in the millions, and have also been adapted into countless theatre and cinematic productions.
So come and learn more about Dickens and enjoy his work.

Did you Know?
Charles Dickens had a pet raven named Grip. When the bird died in 1841 he had it stuffed and it is now in the Free Library of Philadelphia.

As a young man Charles Dickens worked for nearly four years as a newspaper reporter working on court cases and legal proceedings. This experience found its way into many of his books.

Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine had ten children. Many of them were named after famous writers.

Many of Charles Dickens’ books were printed in magazines in serial form before being published in book format. Unlike other authors who finished their stories before the magazines printed them, Dickens often wrote each episode as they were being serialized. This meant that his stories had a rhythm which kept the reader looking forward to the next episode, just like a modern day TV series.

One of Charles Dickens’ daughters was named Dora after the character in his book David Copperfield. The real Dora died tragically of an illness just like the Dora in the book.

–SCENE FORM “HARD TIMES”
–SCENE FROM “NICHOLAS NICKLEBY”

The more you discover about an author, the more you will enjoy their novels.
Answer these questions and see how much you know about Dickens!

1-What was his birthdate?
2-What was his birthplace?
3-What was his father’s name?
4-What was Charles Dickens’ first job?
5-How old was he when he started working?
6-How long did he work in the factory?
7-Where did he return to study after working in the factory?
8-What was ‘Boz’?
9-Whom did he marry?
10-How many children did Dickens and Catherine have?
11-What was Catherine’s Hogarth younger sister’s name?
12-Mary served as inspiration for what?
13-What was special about the novel Pickwick Papers?
14-What novel was published in 1837-38?
15-What were the Nicholas Nickleby sales figures?
16-What is the meaning of MHC?
17-In which other country was Dickens very popular?
18-Which famous novel did he write in 1843?
19-Which novel is considered to be largely autobiographical?
20-Where is Dickens buried?

Do you like this song?
Why don’t you tell me which is your favourite Christmas song?