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 Charles Dickens, the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens, was born
on 7th February 1812. His father, John Dickens worked as a clerk at the Navy pay office in Portsmouth. He
later found work in Chatham and Charles, the second of seven children, went to the local school.
In 1822 the family moved to London. John Dickens' debts had become so severe that all the
household goods were sold.
Charles Dickens decided he wanted to become a reporter. He taught himself shorthand. In
1828 Dickens found work as a court reporter. Later he joined the Mirror of Parliament, a newspaper that reported
the proceedings of Parliament. He considered most politicians to be "pompous" ,
but Dickens was impressed with some of the MPs who genuinely seemed to be interested in
making Britain a better place to live.
In 1833 Dickens had his first story published in the Monthly Magazine. Using the pen-name of
'Boz'. He also began writing short stories to the Morning
Chronicle and the Evening Chronicle. These stories were so popular that they were collected together and published as Sketches by Boz
.
His next book was The Pickwick Papers
(originally published in twenty monthly installments). This was followed by Oliver Twist, and Nicholas
Nickleby.
Dickens published Household Words between 1850 and 1859 and during that time campaigned
for of parliamentary reform and improvements in the education of the poor. He was extremely hostile to the
1834 Poor Law Amendment Act and wrote several articles on the workhouse system. Dickens was also concerned with
public health and the reform of the legal system. He continued to publish until his death on 8th June, 1870.
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