Charles John Huffam Dickens was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print.icken's father was a clerk at the Naval Pay Office and because of this, the family had to move from place to place: Plymouth, London, Chatham. It was a large family and despite hard work, his father couldn't earn enough money. In 1823 he was arrested for debt and Charles had to start working in a factory, labelling bottles for six shillings a week. The economy eventually improved and Charles could go back to school. After leaving school, Charles started to work in a solicitor's office.
He learned shorthand and started as a reporter working for the Morning Chronicle in courts of law and the House of Commons. In 1836 his first success was published, The Pickwick Papers. This was followed by more novels: Oliver Twist (1837), Nicholas Nickleby (1838-39) and Barnaby Rudge (1841). He travelled to America later that year and aroused the hostility of the American press by supporting the abolition movement. In 1858 he divorced from his wife Catherine, who had borne him ten children. During the 1840s his social criticism became more radical and his comedy more savage: Novels like David Copperfield (1849-50), A Tale of Two Cities (1959), Great Expectations (1860-61) only increased his fame and respect. His last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood was never completed and was later published posthumously.