Frederick Dickens

Frederick Dickens
Miniature of Frederick Dickens
Born	4 July 1820 London
Died	20 October 1868(1868-10-20) (aged 48) Darlington
Nationality	Great Britain
Occupation	civil servant
Known for	Brother of novelist Charles Dickens

Frederick William Dickens (4 July 1820 – 20 October 1868) was the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens and was Charles Dickens' younger brother, who lived with Charles when he moved on to Furnival's Inn in 1834. He was the inspiration for two different Freds in his brother's books: the jovial nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and the dissolute brother of Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop.

While Fred was a child and a youth, Charles Dickens often described him as his favourite brother, showing great concern for his welfare. As a boy, Fred attended a school in Hampstead with his brother Alfred Dickens for two years, until their father John Dickens could no longer afford the fees. At the end of the school day, the boys would be collected by their older brother, Charles. On 20 February 1824, John Dickens was imprisoned in the Marshalsea Debtors' Prison for debt under the Insolvent Debtor's Act of 1813, because he owed a baker, James Kerr, £40 and 10 shillings. His wife, Elizabeth Barrow, and her three youngest children, including the four-year-old Fred, joined her husband in the Marshalsea in April 1824. John Dickens was released after three months, on 28 May 1824. In 1834, Fred went to live with his brother Charles when he moved into three-room chambers in Furnival's Inn. Fred went to live with Charles and his wife Catherine Dickens and their young family in their Doughty Street home and resided with them for a number of years.

When Charles and Catherine Dickens visited the United States in 1842, Fred Dickens remained in London and looked after his young nephews and nieces. Charles Dickens also helped Fred to find employment, firstly with a publisher and later in 1839 with the Treasury.