Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did Charles Dickens’s work as a parliamentary reporter affect his views of Parliament?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Portrait of Charles Dickens seated at a desk, writing with a quill pen, dressed in a suit with a bow tie. — Charles Dickens English novelist Charles Dickens working at his craft. Dickens published some of most beloved novels in English literature, including *A Christmas Carol*, *A Tale of Two Cities*, and *Great Expectations*.

Charles Dickens’s experience working as a parliamentary reporter left him with a lasting contempt for Parliament.1

While his time as a reporter—along with his work for the Liberal Morning Chronicle—helped shape his reformist political outlook, the firsthand exposure to the inner workings of the legislature fostered a deep-seated disdain for the institution itself. This skepticism toward British institutions became a hallmark of his career, as he frequently acted as a radical critic of the social and political systems of his day.123