Edward Dickens

Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens (13 March 1852 – 23 January 1902) was the youngest son of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. He emigrated to Australia at the age of 16, and eventually entered politics, serving as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1889 to 1894. He died at the age of 49 after a period of illness.

Early life Dickens was named after his godfather, novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, and educated at Tunbridge Wells in Kent at a private school owned by the Reverend W. C. Sawyer, later Anglican bishop of Armidale and Grafton. He also attended lectures at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. He was nicknamed "the Plornishghenter" as a baby, which was shortened to "Plornish" and then "Plorn".

Parliament Dickens was nominated for the seat of Wentworth at the 1882 by-election, but withdrew before the polls, won by fellow pastoralist Edward Quin. He was then elected member for Wilcannia in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1889, as a Protectionist Party candidate, and held the seat until he was defeated by Labor Party candidate Richard Sleath in 1894. He died in Moree in 1902,

Literary portrayals Thomas Keneally's 2020 novel The Dickens Boy (Sceptre, ) is a fictionalised account of Edward Dickens' life.