Charles Dickens

**Charles Dickens** (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and a social critic who is regarded as one of the great English writers of the 19th century.

## Early life

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England. His parents were John Dickens (1785-1851), a naval pay clerk, and Elizabeth Barrow (1789–1863).

When Dickens was born, he had dyslexia and so he could not read or write properly, unlike other kids. When Charles was 12 years old, his family moved to Camden, London. He worked in a blacking (shoe polish) factory there while his father was in prison for debt. Dickens's hard times in the factory served as a foundation of ideas for many of his novels. Many of them, like _Oliver Twist_, later became famous. When his great-grandmother died and transmitted money, Charles' father paid off his debts and was released from prison. Charles did not like working and wished to stop after his father had been released. However, his mother said that the family needed the money and so Charles was forced to continue working. Charles then finished his schooling and got a job as an office boy for an attorney. After finding that job dull, he taught himself shorthand and became a journalist that reports on the government. Dickens was a Unitarian.

## Author

His first book was _Sketches by Boz_ in 1836, a collection of the short pieces that he had been writing for the _Monthly Magazine_ and the _Evening Chronicle_. This was followed by _The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club_ in 1837. Both books became popular as soon as they were printed.

The high production costs of making _A Christmas Carol_ led to reduced profits, and the first edition brought him only  rather than the  he expected. A year later, the profits were only , and Dickens was deeply disappointed.

Charles Dickens died of a stroke on June 9, 1870. He was buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. He died 5 years and 3 days after getting into a horrible train accident that killed 10 people and injured another 49.

## Books

Charles Dickens wrote many books, including:
- _Sketches by Boz_ (1836)
- _The Pickwick Papers_ (1837)
- _Oliver Twist_ (1838)
- _Nicholas Nickleby_ (1838)
- _The Old Curiosity Shop_ (1840)
- _Barnaby Rudge_ (1841)
- _Martin Chuzzlewit_ (1843)
- _A Christmas Carol_ (1843)
- _Dombey and Son_ (1846—1848)
- _David Copperfield_ (1849—1850)
- _Bleak House_ (1851—1853)
- _Hard Times_ (1854)
- _Little Dorritt_ (1855—1857)
- _A Tale of Two Cities_ (1859)
- _Great Expectations_ (1861)
- _Our Mutual Friend_ (1865)
- _The Mystery of Edwin Drood_ (1869—1870) (unfinished)

## Other websites

- Charles Dickens mobile ebooks
- Charles Dickens  at the British Library

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Charles Dickens
- **image**: Dickens Gurney head.jpg
- **birth name**: Charles John Huffam Dickens
- **birth place**: Portsmouth, England
- **death place**: Kent, England
- **death cause**: Stroke
- **resting place**: Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey
- **nationality**: English
- **occupation**: Writer.
Social Critic
- **notable works**: _Sketches by Boz_, _Oliver Twist_, _A Christmas Carol_, _A Tale of Two Cities_, _David Copperfield_, _Great Expectations_
- **signature**: Charles Dickens Signature.svg