Simplify the following text for a Grade 7 native English-speaking person.
Original: Charles John Huffam Dickens ( ; 7 February 1812 -- 9 June 1870 ) was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era , and he remains popular , responsible for some of English literature 's most iconic characters .
Simplified: Charles Dickens ( February 7 1812 â '' June 9 1870 ) was one of the great English writers of the 19th century .