Charles Dickens

Born in Portsmouth, England on 7th February 1812, Charles John Huffam Dickens was one of eight children. His father, John, worked as a government clerk, but was imprisoned during Charles's childhood due to outstanding debts. This forced Charles to support his family by going to work in a boot-blacking factory at the age of twelve.
Although Dickens went on to receive a middle-class education at Wellington House Academy, he continued to work at the factory. These experiences of the different elements of society influenced many of the novels he would write later in life.

Dickens first published his novels as weekly or monthly serials, a common practice at the time. It helped fuel his popularity with fans who eagerly anticipated each new installment of his stories. The plight of the poor became one of the major themes in Charles Dickens's novels - a reflection of the bitterness he felt about the way working-class people lived and were treated. Charles Dickens died on 9th June 1870.