Charles Dickens was one of Britain's most prolific and influential authors.
Born in Portsmouth, England on February 7, 1812, Charles Dickens was exposed to literary works in the stories his nursemaid used to tell him. As a young boy, Charles witnessed his father John go to debtor's prison. Charles went to work at a blacking warehouse managed by a relative of his mother when he was twelve. His experiences with hard times and poverty went on to influence the themes of social justice and reform in his novels.
Although he had little formal schooling, Dickens was able to teach himself shorthand and launch a career as a journalist. At the age of sixteen, Dickens got himself a job as a court reporter, and later joined the staff of A Mirror of Parliament, a newspaper that reported on the decisions of Parliament.
Quickly becoming disillusioned with politics, Dickens developed an interest in social reform and began contributing to the True Sun, a radical newspaper. Although his main avenue of work would consist in writing novels, Dickens continued his journalistic work until the end of his life, editing The Daily News, Household Words, and All the Year Round. His connections to various magazines and newspapers as a political journalist gave him the opportunity to begin publishing his own fiction at the beginning of his career. He went on to publish fifteen successful novels, including Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.
Charles Dickens died on June 9, 1870. He is buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey.