--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's always crude to link Dickens back to…" description: "\"It's always crude to link Dickens back to the blacking factory where he was sent to work aged 12 when his father was imprisoned in Marshalsea Prison fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/harry-lloyd-20665_aged_it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-t_2406034.jpg" --- # It's always crude to link Dickens back to the blacking… ![“It's always crude to link Dickens back to the blacking factory where he was sent to work aged 12 when his father was imprisoned in Marshalsea Prison for bad debt, but it was obviously a huge part of him.” quote by Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/harry-lloyd-20665_aged_it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-t_2406034.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/harry-lloyd-20665_aged_it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-t_2406034.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/harry-lloyd-20665_aged_it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-t_2406034.jpg) > “It's always crude to link Dickens back to the blacking factory where he was sent to work aged 12 when his father was imprisoned in Marshalsea Prison for bad debt, but it was obviously a huge part of him.” [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dickens’ early labor experience profoundly influenced his literary themes of poverty and social injustice. **In simple terms:** Dickens’ child labor shaped his writing. Key Takeaway Study how personal history informs creative work. Themes literature history poverty social justice Mood thoughtful critical Type literary historical When to use this quote - education - writing workshops - social advocacy - historical analysis Key Concepts biography social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does personal trauma affect artistic expression? - What other factors shaped Dickens’ worldview? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on hardship may overlook other influences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Factory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factory/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [It's true that my father was imprisoned for three and a half years, and it was because he stood up for what he believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/granit-xhaka/it-s-true-that-my-father-was-imprisoned-for-three-and-a-half-years/) [Granit Xhaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/granit-xhaka/) > [My childhood was not always a happy one because we had to visit our father in jail, as my father was often imprisoned by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheikh-hasina/my-childhood-was-not-always-a-happy-one-because-we-had-to-visit-our/) [Sheikh Hasina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheikh-hasina/) > [I've aged. 'Patagonia' has robbed me of a decade of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rhys/i-ve-aged-patagonia-has-robbed-me-of-a-decade-of-my-life/) [Matthew Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rhys/) > [When we're young, everyone over the age of thirty looks middle-aged, everyone over fifty antique. And time, as it goes by, confirms that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/when-we-re-young-everyone-over-the-age-of-thirty-looks-middle-aged/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I do feel like I've gotten younger as I've aged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-danes/i-do-feel-like-i-ve-gotten-younger-as-i-ve-aged/) [Claire Danes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-danes/) > [I've been cycling ever since I was a kid. I remember taking my cycling proficiency test aged seven - I got to school at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-ve-been-cycling-ever-since-i-was-a-kid-i-remember-taking-my-cycling/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [I'm partial to a nice Parmesan that has aged well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-part/i-m-partial-to-a-nice-parmesan-that-has-aged-well/) [John Part](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-part/) > [I first picked up a violin aged five - I just assumed everyone played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-rieu/i-first-picked-up-a-violin-aged-five-i-just-assumed-everyone-played/) [Andre Rieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-rieu/) > [I'm not someone who had to worry about aging on camera. I was already aged when I got there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/i-m-not-someone-who-had-to-worry-about-aging-on-camera-i-was-already/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [“I am a very old man. How old I do not know. It is possible I am a hundred, maybe more. I cannot tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/i-am-a-very-old-man-how-old-i-do-not-know-it-is-possible-i-am-a/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I said 'No, I've aged, but grown up? No'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-lloyd/i-said-no-i-ve-aged-but-grown-up-no/) [Jake Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-lloyd/) > [If we didn't live venturously, plucking the wild goat by the beard, and trembling over precipices, we should never be depressed, I've no doubt;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-we-didn-t-live-venturously-plucking-the-wild-goat-by-the-beard-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. How many 118 year old men do you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-cryer/i-m-59-and-people-call-me-middle-aged-how-many-118-year-old-men-do/) [Barry Cryer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-cryer/) > [Relish love in your old age! Aged love is like aged wine; it becomes more satisfying, more refreshing, more valuable, more appreciated and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/relish-love-in-your-old-age-aged-love-is-like-aged-wine-it-becomes/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) ## More by Harry Lloyd > [I believe your thoughts are your thoughts, but are you a human being in front of the camera, or an actor? They are two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/i-believe-your-thoughts-are-your-thoughts-but-are-you-a-human-being/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [Lecturing is that mysterious process by means of which the contents of the note-book of the professor are transferred through the instrument of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/lecturing-is-that-mysterious-process-by-means-of-which-the-contents/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [If you're going to be related to someone it might as well be Dickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/if-you-re-going-to-be-related-to-someone-it-might-as-well-be-dickens/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [I love my little flat in Spitalfields. Lots of actors live out of a suitcase, so it's nice to have a base to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/i-love-my-little-flat-in-spitalfields-lots-of-actors-live-out-of-a/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [As a child, I was fascinated by the stories of Dickens acting out everything in front of the mirror as he wrote it down.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/as-a-child-i-was-fascinated-by-the-stories-of-dickens-acting-out/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [Part of George R.R. Martins brilliant storytelling is taking the carpet out from under your feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/part-of-george-r-r-martins-brilliant-storytelling-is-taking-the/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [There's a burgeoning film scene in Romania.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/there-s-a-burgeoning-film-scene-in-romania/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [I just don't think any job is worth sacrificing your private life for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/i-just-don-t-think-any-job-is-worth-sacrificing-your-private-life-for/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [I went to prep school, Eton and Oxford. When people hear that, they think they know you, and you think: 'No, you don't.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/i-went-to-prep-school-eton-and-oxford-when-people-hear-that-they/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [I didn't want to be stuck in Dickens period dramas because then I would never know if I was any good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/i-didn-t-want-to-be-stuck-in-dickens-period-dramas-because-then-i/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [When you're on camera, you can't think of all the technical things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/when-you-re-on-camera-you-can-t-think-of-all-the-technical-things/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [It's lovely to have a part that requires you to learn something that's also interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/it-s-lovely-to-have-a-part-that-requires-you-to-learn-something-that/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [I suppose the things you remember about someone who has died are the funny moments. Those are the ones that stand out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/i-suppose-the-things-you-remember-about-someone-who-has-died-are-the/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [There is a whole bunch of great British actors of my age who aren't film stars or theatre actors; they're very much both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/there-is-a-whole-bunch-of-great-british-actors-of-my-age-who-aren-t/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [My parents both work in publishing, and I was a bright, academic kind of kid, and I read a lot of books, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/my-parents-both-work-in-publishing-and-i-was-a-bright-academic-kind/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) [Explore all 30 Harry Lloyd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) ## More Aged quotes > [Relish love in your old age! Aged love is like aged wine; it becomes more satisfying, more refreshing, more valuable, more appreciated and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/relish-love-in-your-old-age-aged-love-is-like-aged-wine-it-becomes/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. How many 118 year old men do you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-cryer/i-m-59-and-people-call-me-middle-aged-how-many-118-year-old-men-do/) [Barry Cryer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-cryer/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [If we didn't live venturously, plucking the wild goat by the beard, and trembling over precipices, we should never be depressed, I've no doubt;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-we-didn-t-live-venturously-plucking-the-wild-goat-by-the-beard-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I said 'No, I've aged, but grown up? No'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-lloyd/i-said-no-i-ve-aged-but-grown-up-no/) [Jake Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-lloyd/) > [“I am a very old man. How old I do not know. It is possible I am a hundred, maybe more. I cannot tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/i-am-a-very-old-man-how-old-i-do-not-know-it-is-possible-i-am-a/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I'm not someone who had to worry about aging on camera. I was already aged when I got there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/i-m-not-someone-who-had-to-worry-about-aging-on-camera-i-was-already/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [I first picked up a violin aged five - I just assumed everyone played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-rieu/i-first-picked-up-a-violin-aged-five-i-just-assumed-everyone-played/) [Andre Rieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-rieu/) > [I'm partial to a nice Parmesan that has aged well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-part/i-m-partial-to-a-nice-parmesan-that-has-aged-well/) [John Part](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-part/) > [I've been cycling ever since I was a kid. I remember taking my cycling proficiency test aged seven - I got to school at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-ve-been-cycling-ever-since-i-was-a-kid-i-remember-taking-my-cycling/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [I do feel like I've gotten younger as I've aged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-danes/i-do-feel-like-i-ve-gotten-younger-as-i-ve-aged/) [Claire Danes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-danes/) > [When we're young, everyone over the age of thirty looks middle-aged, everyone over fifty antique. And time, as it goes by, confirms that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/when-we-re-young-everyone-over-the-age-of-thirty-looks-middle-aged/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I've aged. 'Patagonia' has robbed me of a decade of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rhys/i-ve-aged-patagonia-has-robbed-me-of-a-decade-of-my-life/) [Matthew Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rhys/) > [I like my dry-aged steaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malik-jackson/i-like-my-dry-aged-steaks/) [Malik Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malik-jackson/) > [“She felt very young, at the same time unspeakably aged. She sliced like a knife through everything, at the same time was outside, looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-felt-very-young-at-the-same-time-unspeakably-aged-she-sliced-like/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) Browse all 137 Aged quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's always crude to link Dickens back to the blacking factory where he was sent to work aged 12 when his father was imprisoned in Marshalsea Prison for bad debt, but it was obviously a huge part of him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harry Lloyd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-to-the-blacking-factory-where/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aged" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-to-the-blacking-factory-where/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/harry-lloyd-20665_aged_it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-t_2406034.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/harry-lloyd-20665_aged_it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-t_2406034.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/harry-lloyd-20665_aged_it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-t_2406034.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's always crude to link Dickens back to the blacking factory where he was sent to work aged 12 when his…” — Harry Lloyd", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harry Lloyd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's always crude to link Dickens...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-to-the-blacking-factory-where/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/it-s-always-crude-to-link-dickens-back-to-the-blacking-factory-where/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```