Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was an English writer and the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. He wrote some of the most beloved classics of English literature, including Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Bleak House, and A Tale of Two Cities.
He was born in Portsmouth, England, on February 7, 1812. In 1824, when he was twelve years old, his father was imprisoned for debt, forcing Dickens to leave school and work in a blacking factory. The experience deeply affected him and later inspired many themes in his novels, particularly poverty, social injustice, and the hardships faced by children.
After his father's release, Dickens returned to school for a few years but soon had to work to help support his family. He eventually became a freelance reporter and, by 1832, had established himself as a successful newspaper journalist. In 1836 he married Catherine Hogarth, with whom he had ten children.
His literary career began to flourish with the publication of The Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist. Over the following decades he became one of the most famous writers in the English-speaking world. He traveled extensively, spoke out against slavery and social inequality, and spent periods living in Europe, particularly in Italy and France.
Dickens regarded David Copperfield as his favorite novel. In 1858 he separated from his wife and later formed a close relationship with the actress Ellen Ternan. Despite declining health following a railway accident in 1865, he continued to write and give highly successful public readings in Britain and the United States.
On June 9, 1870, Charles Dickens suffered a stroke at his home in Kent and died the following day at the age of fifty-eight.
