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Charles Dickens (1812-70) was a writer, journalist and publisher, probably the most famous British literary name after Shakespeare. His childhood hardship, after the imprisonment of his father, put him to work at an early age. The theme of poverty and struggle has become a leitmotif of his whole body of work. He began writing under the pseudonym of Boz and had one of his most acclaimed novels Oliver Twist published while still in his twenties. His most popular character is, arguably, Ebenezer Scrooge from an allegorical tale A Christmas Carol - the story that defines Christmas traditions for most of the English speaking world. Alongside writing, Dickens was also a publisher and editor whose journals Household Words (1850-1859) and All the Year Round published a number of major names of Victorian literature such as Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Gaskell and others. The fame of the author gave rise to the term Dickensian that suggests things reminiscent of poverty and featuring satirical portrayals like Scrooge's stinginess. |
