Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic.
During his lifetime, his works enjoyed unprecedented popularity. He is now considered a literary genius because he created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, on the southern coast of England. His father, John Dickens, was a naval clerk who dreamed of becoming rich and his mother, Elizabeth Barrow, aspired to be a teacher and school director. But the family’s financial situation had grown worse because John Dickens used to spend money dangerously beyond the family’s means. Consequently, John was sent to prison for debt in 1824, when Charles was just 12 years old.
After his father's imprisonment, Charles Dickens left school to work in a factory. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
