Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian age. His work, which includes such enduring classics as David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, was immensely popular with contemporary audiences and has continued to fascinate readers for generations. A Christmas Carol - which Dickens refers to as his "ghostly little book" - was an immediate success on publication and is often credited with inventing the modern form of Christmas.