Actor, playwright, editor and author – Charles Dickens played many roles. It is as an author he is best known, writing stories that are among the greatest ever written in English. All remain in print, and sales run into hundreds of millions of copies worldwide. The memorable characters and strong story lines have made them ideal for filmmakers. Characters such as Scrooge, Oliver Twist and Fagin are household names.

As a person, Charles Dickens was renowned for hard work, often writing more than one complex story at a time. A champion of the poor and oppressed, he highlighted social problems by bringing them to a wider audience through his novels. He is inextricably linked with the images of Victorian Christmas and Victorian London. Yet his personal story is one of unhappiness, trauma and marital breakdown.

This book looks at his life and work, and the influence Charles Dickens continues to have on all forms of literature, art, drama and film.

It details places that you can visit linked to Charles Dickens such as the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum; the Royal Opera House, Rochester, Chatham and Chateau d’Hardelot.

The book shows how Dickens novels have been portrayed in literature, film and drama together with portrayals of the writer. You can visit film locations including- Carlyle’s House and the New Theatre Cardiff.