Born in Portsmouth in 1812, is widely regarded as Britain’s most successful and best loved novelist.He left school at the age of twelve to work in a boot blacking factory, but after three years he was able to return to school, after which he began his journalistic career. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, was published in serial form in 1836. Although not initially successful, the introduction of the character of Sam Weller in the fourth instalment increased the novel’s readership significantly. He continued to publish his novels in weekly or monthly instalments, a format which exacerbated the hysteria around his work, and contributed to his celebrity status.‍Many of his characters are among the most famous in English literature, from the Artful Dodger, to Miss Havisham, and several have become bywords for certain traits or characteristics.Dickens died of a stroke in June 1860.