He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His novels and short stories are widely read today. Born in Portsmouth , Dickens left school at age 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father John was incarcerated in a debtors' prison.
After three years, he returned to school before beginning his literary career as a journalist. Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years; wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and nonfiction articles; lectured and performed readings extensively; was a tireless letter writer; and campaigned vigorously for children's rights , education and other social reforms. Dickens's literary success began with the serial publication of The Pickwick Papers , a publishing phenomenon—thanks largely to the introduction of the character Sam Weller in the fourth episode—that sparked Pickwick merchandise and spin-offs.
Within a few years, Dickens had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most of them published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. His novella A Christmas Carol remains especially popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every creative medium.
Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His novel Bleak House , a satire on the judicial system, helped support a reformist movement that culminated in the s legal reform in England.
A Tale of Two Cities set in London and Paris is regarded as his best-known work of historical fiction. The most famous celebrity of his era, he undertook, in response to public demand, a series of public reading tours in the later part of his career.
