Best Charles Dickens books to get into one of Britain's greatest novelists
Revered for his ability to craft intimate windows into life in London during the Victorian period in all its desperate squalor and utter glory, Charles Dickens’ novels remain some of the most iconic pieces of literature in British history.
Much like the many adored characters which feature in his oeuvre, Dickens’ own story is one of rags to riches. After his father was arrested in 1824, 12-year-old Charles was forced to work at Warren’s Blacking Factory to provide for his family. Just nine years later, his first story, A Dinner at Poplar Walk, was published in The Monthly Magazine.
However, it wasn’t until the literary prodigy began publishing his first novel in instalments that he was to gain widespread national attention. , serialised in 1836 and published as a novel in 1837, saw sales increase from 500 copies for the first instalment, to
