National Gallery Masterpiece Classics: A Christmas Carol

Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. In 1824, his father was imprisoned for debt, so Charles was sent to work in a shoe-dye factory. He later became a clerk in a law firm, a shorthand reporter in the courts, and a parliamentary and newspaper reporter. In 1833, Dickens began to contribute short stories and essays to periodicals, heralding the start of a glittering and prolific literary career. He married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, with whom he had nine surviving children before they separated in 1858. Dickens died suddenly at home on 9 June 1870, leaving behind an internationally acclaimed canon of work, including OLIVER TWIST (1837), NICHOLAS NICKLEBY (1838), DAVID COPPERFIELD (1849-50), BLEAK HOUSE (1852-53), LITTLE DORRIT (1855-57), A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1859), GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1860-61) and OUR MUTUAL FRIEND (1864-65). He was buried in Westminster Abbey, London, England.