Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a well-loved, Victorian-era British author and social critic. He wrote numerous works that are now considered classics and created some of the best-known fictional characters of all time.

Born in 1812 near Portsmouth where his father was a clerk in the navy pay office, Charles Dickens' family moved to London in 1823, but their fortunes were severely impaired. Dickens was sent to work in a blacking-warehouse when his father was imprisoned for debt. Both experiences deeply affected the future novelist. In 1833 he began contributing stories to newspapers and magazines, and in 1836 started the serial publication of Pickwick Papers. Dickens published his major novels over the course of the next twenty years, from Nicholas Nickleby to Little Dorrit. He also edited the journals "Household Words" and "All the Year Round." Dickens died in June 1870.