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Arts & Culture 1840s

1843: Charles Dickens, the English novelist, published the perennial Christmas favourite A Christmas Carol. In 1842 he visited Montreal during a lecture tour. His first published success was Sketches by Boz in 1836. Some of Dickens' books, like Oliver Twist, dealt with the dark side of the Industrial Revolution - the poor houses, child labour and urban poverty.

1844: Production of one of the first French-Canadian plays and the first Canadian tragedy, Le Jeune Latour, premiered in Montreal. It was written by Antoine GĂ©rin-Lajoie, who also wrote the poem, Un Canadien errant.

1847: Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights and her sister Charlotte Bronte published Jane Eyre.

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