Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a prolific English Victorian author famous for novels like Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities, chronicling the harsh realities of Victorian poverty and social injustice, partly shaped by his own childhood trauma of working in a shoe polish factory after his father was imprisoned for debt. Starting as a journalist, he became a literary giant, publishing many works serially, and used his fame to advocate for social reform, leaving an indelible mark on literature.
