Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is considered to be one of the greatest English novelists of the Victorian period.Dickens's works are characterized by attacks on social evils,injustice,and hypocrisy.
Later critics,beginning with George Gissing and G.K.Chesterton,championed his mastery of prose,his endless invention of memorable characters and his powerful social sensibilities.Yet he also received criticism from his more rarefied readers,including George Henry Lewes,Henry James,and Virginia Woolf,who list faults such as sentimentality,unrealistic events and grotesque characters[1].
The popularity of his novels and short stories during his lifetime and to the present is demonstrated by the fact that none has ever gone out of print.Dickens wrote serialised novels,which was the usual format for fiction at the time,and each new part of his stories would be eagerly anticipated by the reading public.He is regarded by many as the greatest writer of his time.