Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was a phenomenon: a hardworking journalist, the father of ten children, a tireless traveller, but most of all a great novelist. At the age of twelve he was sent to work in a blacking factory. From these unpromising beginnings, he rose to scale all the social and literary heights. When he died, the world mourned, and he was buried - against his wishes - in Westminster Abbey. Yet the brilliance concealed a divided character: a republican, he disliked America; sentimental about the family in his writings, he took up passionately with a young actress; usually generous, he cut off his impecunious children. Claire Tomalin paints an unforgettable portrait of Dickens, capturing brilliantly the complex character of this great genius.
Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin, narrated by Patience Tomlinson