Charles Dickens, full name Charles John Huffam Dickens, was born in Landport, Portsmouth, on February 7, 1812. He is one of the most widely read authors in English and considered to be the greatest novelist of the Victorian period.

As a child Dickens was frequently sick, so he didn’t often play outside with other children. But he read a lot and quickly became a passionate reader.

When Charles was 12 years old, he experienced something that profoundly changed him. His father, who was constantly in debt, was imprisoned and Charles was withdrawn from school and forced to work at a shoe polish factory.

This working experience, which lasted for a few months until his father was released from prison, left profound imprint on Charles. It allowed him to get the firsthand impressions of poverty and working classes. He never forgot it.

When he finished his formal education, he started working as a reporter, first as a shorthand reporter in the courts and later as a newspaper reporter. In 1833 he began to contribute short stories to magazines. His first published story was A Dinner at Popular Walk.

The short stories that Dickens contributed were so popular that in 1836 they were collected and published as a book entitled Sketches by Boz. Boz was his pen-name. The same year he married Catherine Hogarth, who was to bear him 10 children.

After that he embarked on a full-time career as a novelist, producing extensive works at an incredible rate. Among his major works are Oliver Twist (1837-39), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations (1860-61), David Copperfield (1849-50), Bleak House (1852-53) and, of course, A Christmas Carol (1843), probably the most popular piece he ever wrote.

Dickens wrote about the social injustices of the Victorian period. Poverty, social evils, prejudice, hypocrisy, greed, oppression are topics you will find in most of his novels. His works are still relevant today.

Dickens died from a stroke on 9 June 1870 at his home. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Today he is still widely read.