Charles Dickens was one of the most popular English writers of all time. He created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. Born in Portsmouth, England, on 7 February, 1812, his early childhood experiences were much like those depicted in his novel--David Copperfield. He published his first novel, Oliver Twist, in 1837. It was followed by Nicholas Nickleby (1838) and The Old Curiosity Shop (1841). A Christmas Carol (1843) is the most popular perhaps of all his works. In 1859, he published A Tale of Two Cities, his best known work of historical fiction.
Dickens suffered a stroke and died on 9 June, 1870, aged 58.
