Google uses Doodle to market Google Books as Charles Dickens turns 200 today

Today marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’s birth, and Britain’s writers, thespians and all-around fans are celebrating in the streets.

Well, at least they’re celebrating in the streets of Portsmouth, Dickens’s hometown. Some of the grander gestures were reserved for London’s Westminster Abbey, where a wreath was placed on his grave in a gran ceremony which was attended by heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and star Ralph Fiennes.

A mass service was held as well, and it is believed to have hosted the largest gathering of descendants of the Victorian novelist as well as representatives from the worlds of literature, film and theater.

Dickens had actually asked to be buried in his beloved Kent, but the public would have none of it – they demanded for him to be buried in Poets Corner at Westminster Abbey. Several readings were scheduled for the ceremony, one of which was to be read by Fiennes, who will be starring in an upcoming adaptation of Great Expectations as Magwitch, and by Mark Dickens, the author’s great-great-great-grandson.

Dickens is considered the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. Unlike many great writers, Dickens enjoyed tremendous popularity during his lifetime. In fact, he was a rising literary superstar by his mid-twenties. Dickens published many of his novels serially, as monthly installments in popular digests, and he often created the episodes as they were being serialized. This practice gave the stories a particular rhythm, punctuated by repeat cliffhangers to keep the public hooked and in anticipation of the next chapter.

Dickens was a prolific writer – and a progenitor with reproductive prowess (or perhaps the prowess should be attributed to his wife). He had ten children. He was also a philanthropist who helped set up a home for prostitutes. He would visit prisons and workhouses to find suitable candidates for his house of reform, where the women could learn to read and write and become proficient in domestic household chores so as to be able to re-integrate back into society. Dickens also envisioned that many of the women could leave for Australia, where they could start families and a new life free of the past baggage.

Even Google has jumped on the Dickensian anniversary bandwagon and has created a unique feature to their signature Google Doodle. Normally, clicking on a Google homepage Doodle takes you to search results for that term. This time, clicking on it takes you to a set of search results promoting Google Books – by Charles Dickens, of course.

The top search result will actually be the Wikipedia entry for Dickens, and below that will be pages of Google Books results related to Dickens. This marks the first time Google has turned its Doodle into a marketing tool.

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Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

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