British · 1812–1870
Charles Dickens dominated Victorian literature as novelist, journalist, editor, and public performer. His childhood experience of poverty—his father imprisoned for debt, himself put to work in a blacking factory—fueled a lifetime of social criticism wrapped in entertainment. His novels were published in serial installments that kept readers waiting for the next episode, and his public readings drew crowds that rivaled rock concerts. Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities—the titles alone evoke an entire era. He created characters so vivid they became types: Scrooge, Fagin, Miss Havisham. His death in 1870 prompted national mourning. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.