7 February 2012 is Charles Dickens’ 200th Birthday. To celebrate, the Squizzes team thought we would share some really cool facts about one of the world’s most famous authors!

Charles Dickens is a very famous English writer. People all over the world enjoy his stories. One of his most famous works is Oliver Twist. Have you read it? It was published in 1837 and is all about a little orphan boy.

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812. He died on 9 June 1870 and is buried in Poet’s Corner in London’s Westminster Abbey.

When Charles was 12 he had to work in a dirty and smelly factory, near the river Thames in London. His job was to put labels on pots of “blacking” which were then used to clean fireplaces. It is believed that his novels 'David Copperfield' and 'Great Expectations' are inspired by his conditions whilst at work.

Working in a factory was not Charles Dickens’ only job! He had many, including working in a lawyers office, writing for newspapers, editing for newspapers and acting. He even acted for Queen Victoria in 1851!

Dickens had 3 sisters, 3 brothers and a pet raven called Grip!

Under the pseudonym of Boz, Charles Dickens published some sketches. A pseudonym is when authors use a different name to keep their real identity a secret. In 1833 he published his first story.

Charles Dickens became very famous. People would recognise him as he walked around London. A lot of people liked his funny stories called The Pickwick Papers. In Victorian times lots of people liked long novels to read because it was the best way to entertain themselves - there was no television, radio or internet!

In 1843 Charles Dickens wrote the Christmas Carol. You can find more about this famous novel here. Apparently after the Christmas Carol was published people used to say “Merry Christmas” a lot more!

Happy Birthday Mr Dickens!