Charles Dickens was a British author, journalist, editor, illustrator, and social commentator who wrote the beloved classics Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and Great Expectations. His books were first published in monthly serial installments, which became a lucrative source of income following a childhood of abject poverty. Wrote 15 novels in total, including Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, and A Tale of Two Cities. His writing provided a stark portrait of poor and working class people in the Victorian era that helped to bring about social change. Died in June 1870 at age 58 and is remembered as one of the most important and influential writers of the 19th century.
Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth on the southern coast of England. He was the second of eight children born to John Dickens, a naval clerk who dreamed of striking it rich, and Elizabeth Barrow, who aspired to be a teacher and school director. Despite his parents’ best efforts, the family remained poor but nevertheless happy in the early days.
In 1816, they moved to Chatham, Kent, where young Dickens and his siblings were free to roam the countryside and explore the old castle at Rochester. Dickens was a sickly child and prone to spasms, which prevented him from playing sports. He compensated by reading avidly, including such books as Robinson Crusoe, Tom Jones, Peregrine Pickle, and The Arabian Nights, according to The World of Charles Dickens by Fido Martin.
