专题13人物传记、故事类A【2018·浙江卷】In1812,theyearCharlesDickenswasborn,therewere66novelspublishedinBritain
Peoplehadbeenwritingnovelsforacentury—mostexpertsdatethefirstnoveltoRobinsonCrusoein1719—butnobodywantedtodoitprofessionally
Thesteam-poweredprintingpresswasstillinitsearlystages;theliteracy(识字)rateinEnglandwasunder50%
Manyworksoffictionappearedwithoutthenamesoftheauthors,oftenwithsomethinglike“Byalady
”Novels,forthemostpart,werelookeduponassilly,immoral,orjustplainbad
In1870,whenDickensdied,theworldmournedhimasitsfirstprofessionalwriterandpublisher,famousandbeloved,whohadledanexplosioninboththepublicationofnovelsandtheirreadershipandwhosecharacters—fromOliverTwisttoTinyTim—wereheldupasmoraltouchstones
TodayDickens’greatnessisunchallenged
Removinghimfromthepantheon(名人堂)ofEnglishliteraturewouldmak