harles Dickens and his wife Catherine had ten children and 19 known grandchildren. Although only two of their sons, Charles Culliford Boz Dickens Jr. (1837–1896), the eldest child of the writer, who inherited and edited the magazine All the Year Round after his father's death, and his brother Sir Henry Fielding Dickens (1849–1933), a prominent barrister, continued the family line by having offspring, they produced a legion of great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren in subsequent generations, many of them talented and a credit to the family name.
The bicentenary of the birth of the author of The Pickwick Papers in 2012 was marked by numerous events in Britain, the US and elsewhere. London celebrated the anniversary by special exhibitions, public readings of his works in the style of Dickens's original "Penny Readings," walking tours, stamp releases by the Royal Mail, new film adaptations of his novels, and literary debates. A special ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey with members of the Royal Family in attendance. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, laid flowers at Dickens's grave. In an interview, one of his great-great-grandsons, Mark Charles Dickens, stated that an estimated 200 people, all related to Dickens or married into the family, gathered in London for various commemorative events, including a family reunion and a ceremony at Westminster Abbey (Worrall). Detailed information on all the grandchildren and their offspring is not easily available, but there are believed to be more than 300 descendants of the writer and his wife Catherine alive today, many of the great-great-grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren living in England. A number of these have achieved notability, primarily in the fields of literature, arts, and as figures preserving his legacy.
Grandchildren
Left: Portrait of Mary Angela Dickens (1862–1948) from 1882 by her aunt, Kate Perugini (1839–1929), the daughter of Charles Dickens. Credit: Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Source: Art UK, reproduced for non-commercial research. Right: Frontispiece and title-page of Mary Angela Dickens's Dickens' Dream Children (1895).
Dickens's first grandchild was Mary Angela Dickens (1862–1948), called "Mekitty" within the family was the oldest grandchild of Charles Dickens, whom she called "Venerables." She was the daughter of Elisabeth Matilda Moule Evans (1840–1907) and Charles Culliford Boz Dickens. Mary Angela was a recognised novelist and journalist. Her best-known novels, written in a slightly melodramatic tone, include Cross Currents (1891), A Mere Cypher (1893), A Valiant Ignorance (1894), and Prisoners of Silence (1895). She also published a number of popular children's books based on her grandfather's novels, such as Children's Stories from Dickens (1893). Her book, Dickens' Dream Children (1895), is a collection of her grandfather's stories, retold in simplified language for children. The book focuses specifically on the famous child characters from his novels (Morrison 67–68). Mary Angela never married and died on 7 February 1948, on the 136th anniversary of her grandfather's birth.
Mary Angela's sister, Sydney Margaret Dickens (1866–1955), married the architect Thomas Bostock Whinney in 1895, and they had three children, Margaret Dickens Whinney (1897–1974), Humphrey Charles Dickens Whinney (1899–1982), whose son was the Right Reverend Michael Humphrey Dickens Whinney (1930–2017), a Church of England bishop, and Philip Charles Dickens Whinney (1901–1959).
Turning next to the progeny of Sir Henry Fielding Dickens: Sir Henry's son Major Cedric Charles Dickens (1889–1916), born in Chelsea, London, and educated at Eton and Cambridge, was, of course, a grandson of the novelist. Sadly, he was killed during World War One leading his men into battle near Leuze Wood on 9th September 1916, while serving with the 13th London Kensington Regiment.
Great-grandchildren
One of the books by Dickens's great-granddaughter, art historian
Margaret Dickens Whinney.
Margaret Dickens Whinney (1897–1974), Sydney's daughter and thus Dickens's great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, was a notable art historian who wrote books on British sculpture and architecture. She taught at The Courtauld Institute of Art, a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation.
Another great-granddaughter, as the granddaughter of Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, and daughter of Henry Charles Dickens (1878–1966) and Fanny Runge (1876–1966). was Monica Enid Dickens (1915-1992), known as "Monty" to her family and friends. She was the author of over 50 volumes of fiction for adults and children, including the popular ITV "Follyfoot" series, as well as an autobiography, journalism and criticism. "She was one of the two or three best-selling woman's novelists of her generation" (Obituary, The Independent). As a young woman she rebelled against her high society milieu and went to work, first as a servant, then as a cook, hospital nurse, and finally a newspaper reporter. Her first book, a fictionalised autobiography, One Pair Of Hands, inspired by her experiences as a domestic servant, was published in 1939, and became a bestseller.
Monica Enid Dickens, by Bassano Ltd, a half-plate film negative of 12 May 1939, © National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG x19447, by kind permission.
Her later novels include: No More Meadows (1953), The Winds of Heaven (1955), The Angel in the Corner (1956), Man Overboard (1958), The Heart of London (1961), Cobbler's Dream (1963), Kate and Emma (1964), generally considered to be her most accomplished novel, The Room Upstairs (1964), The Landlord's Daughter (1968), The Listeners (1970), Talking of Horses (1973), Enchantment (1989), Scarred (1991). In 1951, Monica Dickens married an American Navy officer, Roy O. Stratton, and spent much of her adult life in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. She advocated suicide prevention measures, campaigning for the erection of higher barriers on the bridges over the Cape Cod Canal, an artificial waterway in Massachusetts, to prevent desperate people from jumping to their deaths. After the death of her husband in 1985, Monica Dickens returned to England where she continued to write until her death aged 77.
Cedric Charles Dickens (1916–2006), the son of Philip "Pip" Charles Dickens (1887–1964), a chartered accountant and one of the founding staff members of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) after serving in World War I, was another grandson of Sir Henry Fielding Dickens. He too was an author, and also a businessman, and the guardian of his great-grandfather's literary legacy. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge, served in the Royal Navy during the World War II, and after the war was appointed Director of Communications for International Computers Limited (ICL). Cedric was a lifelong supporter of the Charles Dickens Museum in Holborn, London, and twice President of the Dickens Fellowship. Some of his books on his great-grandfather include: Dining with Dickens (1984) and Drinking with Dickens (1988). A Dickens Christmas (1991). In 1950, he initiated the tradition of annual gatherings specifically for Charles Dickens's male descendants over 18 who meet for a private lunch at the George and Vulture Tavern in London, which is mentioned in The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, who frequently drank there himself. A separate event held at the same venue is the Dickens Fellowship's Christmas Lunch for its members. It is usually accompanied by a prize draw and answers to quiz questions and readings from Dickens. Cedric Charles Dickens had two children with his wife Elizabeth Mary ffrench Blake: Jane Sybil Dickens (born in 1950) and John Philip Charles Dickens (born in 1951).
Still on sale, Christmas With Dickens: The Dickens' Family's 150th Anniversary Gift of a Christmas Carol for Modern-Day Families at Yuletide — a book of 1993 by Cedric Charles Dickens and other descendants, beautifully bound in red leather with goldleaf printing.
When Cedric died in 2006, the obituary in the London Times said: "Cedric Dickens was the living embodiment of one his great-grandfather's most enduring and best-loved characters: Mr Pickwick. He radiated bonhomie and charm and made friends all over the world in his long quest to promote the love of Charles Dickens's mighty oeuvre" (The Times, 22 February 2006).
Peter Gerald Charles Dickens (1917–1987), the son of Admiral Sir Gerald Charles Dickens (1879–1962), and Kathleen Pearl Birch (1889–1970), was an English Royal Navy officer during World War II and another noteworthy great-grandson of Charles Dickens. His children are Mark Dickens (born 1955) and Marion Evelyn Lloyd Dickens (born in 1952).
Great-great-grandchildren
The legacy of talent has continued down into the next generation too. Jennifer Dickens "Poppet" Downing Raine (1932–1993) was a great-great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. She was the daughter of the actors Aileen Dickens Bourchier Hawksley (1907–1961) and Terence Downing (1897–1960). She moved to Los Angeles as a child, where she worked as a character actress throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and later. She was also a stage and television actress. She appeared in various television shows and films, including The Little Princess (1939), 77 Sunset Strip (1958), Lux Playhouse (1958) and Thriller (1960).
Back to literature again: Marion Dickens-Lloyd (born in 1952) is a publisher of children's books. The great-great-granddaughter of Dickens from the line of Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, she is the daughter of Peter Gerald Charles Dickens (1917–1987) and Mary Alice Blagrove (born circa 1920). Her husband is Jonathan Lloyd, the head of a literary agency, and she is the mother of the actor Harry Charles Salusbury Lloyd (born in 1983). In 2013, Marion and her son Harry contributed to the opening to the public of a museum at Gad's Hill Place, the former country home of Charles Dickens (The Guardian, 6 September 2013).
Gerald Roderick Charles Dickens (born in 1963), a great-great-grandson, is on the acting side of the family. He performs one-man shows based on the works of his great-great-grandfather, most notably A Christmas Carol. He is the fourth child of David Kenneth Charles Dickens (1925–2005) and his wife Betty (1927–2010), and the cousin of Monica Dickens, Lucinda Hawksley, and Harry Lloyd; he was the President of the Dickens Fellowship from 2005 to 2007. In 2015, he starred in a one-man play called To Begin With at the Music Box Theatre in Minneapolis. The play was adapted from Charles Dickens's little known autobiographical book, The Life of Our Lord, which he wrote to teach his young children about the life of Jesus, and which was published in 1934, 64 years after his death.
Ian David Charles Dickens (born in 1955) is the great-great-grandson, descended from Charles Dickens's eighth child, Sir Henry Fielding Dickens. He is a writer, artist, retired marketer, and an expert on his famous ancestor, often giving talks and leading walks related to Charles Dickens's life, particularly on the Isle of Wight, where the author and his family stayed at Bonchurch for several months in 1849 while he wrote one of his most famous novels, David Copperfield (Allard).
Mark Charles Dickens (born in 1966), the son of David Charles Dickens (1925–2005), a medical publisher and a great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens, is now the recognised Head of the Dickens Family Clan and an active figure in preserving his ancestor's legacy He was president of the Dickens Fellowship in 2011–2013 and until recently served as the chair of trustees at the Charles Dickens Museum in London. He participated in bicentenary celebrations of the author's birth in 2012, a global event, including a 24-hour read-a-thon in 24 countries, official ceremonies in the UK led by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, and a banquet hosted by the Lord Mayor of London. Afterwards, the Dickens's descendants had a big family luncheon with over 200 people (Worrall).
Great-great-great-grandchildren
Various present-day Dickens descendants continue to uphold the family traditions in writing, acting, and involvement in public life. Brian Forster (born in 1960) was an American former child actor and now is a professional race car driver and racing instructor. He is remembered for playing the role of Chris Partridge in the 1970s popular television series The Partridge Family. He also made appearances on such series as "Family Affair," "The Survivors," "My Friend Tony," and "The Brady Bunch." Brian is related to Charles Dickens as his great-great-great-grandson through his mother, the English-born actress Jennifer Dickens "Poppet" Downing Raine (1932–1993), the great-great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens.
The cover of Lucinda Hawksley's book, Dickens' Artistic Daughter Katey: Her Life, Loves and Impact (2006).
Best known of all to many of us, Lucinda Dickens Hawksley (born in 1977) is a widely published author, historian, lecturer and broadcaster, specialising in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century history, literature, and art, and Charles Dickens's life. She has written several non-fiction books and books about her famous ancestor, including Dickens and Travel, Charles Dickens and his Circle and Dickens and Christmas, and a most enjoyable book titled Dickens' Artistic Daughter Katey: Her Life, Loves and Impact (2018) on the writer's favourite daughter, Catherine Elizabeth Macready Perugini (1839–1929 — her great-great-great aunt. A great-great-great-granddaughter of the novelist and his wife Catherine, she is a patron of the Charles Dickens Museum in London and the current President of the International Dickens Fellowship (since 2024).
Harry Charles Salusbury Lloyd (born in 1983) is an actor, known for his role as Viserys Targaryen in Game of Thrones and Will Scarlett in a BBC production of Robin Hood. He is the son of the children's publisher Marion Lloyd (née Dickens, born 1952), the daughter of Peter Gerald Charles Dickens (1917–1987), the granddaughter of Sir Gerald Louis Charles Dickens (1879–1962) and the great-granddaughter of barrister Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, the eighth and last surviving child of Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. Harry is the maternal great-great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens.
Finally, so far at least, Oliver (Ollie) Mark Charles Dickens (born 1992) is a British actor, a son of Mark Charles Dickens (born in 1966) and a great-great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens. He often performs dramatic readings of his great-great-great-grandfather's work, such as reading from Oliver Twist or the Christmas tales. Family pride is as strong as ever: in an interview Oliver said: "It's one of our family traditions: if Dickens is the surname, they'll have Charles as a middle name" (Williams).
Conclusion
As this overview indicates, Charles Dickens's descendants are thriving and strengthening the legacy of their famous forebear. Many of the 300 or so stay interconnected and are actively involved in the Charles Dickens Museum in London and the Dickens Fellowship worldwide. They participate in conferences, literary events, give talks, perform readings and contribute enormously to keeping their great ancestor's work and life in the public eye.
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