Dickens suffered from epilepsy

Dickens suffered from epilepsy and made some of his characters-like Oliver Twist’s brother- epilecticsCharles Dickens
· Dickens was preoccupied with looking in the mirror and combing his hair (obsessive-compulsive). He did it hundred of times a day. He arranged furniture in his home. If it wasn’t in the exact ‘correct’ position, he couldn’t concentrate. He was also obsessed with magnetic fields. Dickens made sure that every bed he slept in was aligned north-south. He had to touch certain objects three times for luck. He was obsessed with the need for tidiness, often cleaning other homes as well as his own.

· Dickens suffered from epilepsy and made some of his characters-like Oliver Twist’s brother- epilectics. Modern doctors are amazed at the medical accuracy of his descriptions of his malady.

· Dickens’ study had a secret door designed to look like a bookcase. The shelves were full of fake books with witty titles, such as Noah’s Arkitecture and a nine-volume set titled Cats’ Lives!

· Dickens often referred to himself as ‘the Sparkler of Albion’ favourably comparing himself to Shakespeare’s nickename ‘ The Bard of Avon’ ( Albion is an archaic name for England)

· Hans Christian Andersen was Dickens2 close friend and Andersen even dedicated his book ‘Poet’s Day Dream’ to Dickens in 1853 but this didn’t stop Dickens from letting Andersen know when he’d overstayed his welcome at Dickens’ home. He printed a sign and left it on Andersen’s mirror in the guest room. It read: ‘ Hans Christian Andersen slept in this room for five weeks, which seemed to the family like AGES!’