I.

Introduction

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English novelist and one of the most popular writers in the history of literature. His ability to combine comedy, pathos, and social satire in his serialized novels won him thousands of contemporary readers, and many of his characters, such as Mr Micawber, Mrs Gamp, Mr Pickwick, Quilp, and Uriah Heep, have entered the British national consciousness.