Charles Dickens and the blacking factory

The story of Charles Dickens’ childhood is dominated by a single narrative, mostly written down by Dickens himself, then edited, arranged and supplemented by John Forster. His time spent working at a blacking factory was a pivotal point in that story. The accuracy and truthfulness of his account of his own life was never seriously questioned or tested, reinforced or challenged. Neither of his parents, none of his uncles and aunts, nor any of his brothers and sisters wrote down their own recollections of the childhood of their famous relative. Or if they did, it hasn’t survived. Forster claimed a prodigious memory for his friend, but if it frequently failed him we wouldn’t know about it. And if Dickens chose to omit particular events or people from his narrative, or to adjust their impact and influence, then we are entirely in his hands – there has been nobody to challenge him.