The Famous Authors Series - Charles Dickens (1996)

Synopsis: "Famous Authors" examines the men and women behind the words that brought them literary kudos. In "Charles Dickens," viewers learn how the Victorian author rose out of cruel circumstances not... "Famous Authors" examines the men and women behind the words that brought them literary kudos. In "Charles Dickens," viewers learn how the Victorian author rose out of cruel circumstances not unlike many of his characters, such as those in "Little Dorrit" or the title figure in "Oliver Twist." Because his father was perpetually in debt, Dickens found work at the age of twelve in a factory. Though deprived an education, he managed to run errands in a law office, and eventually became a newspaper reporter. Dickens went on to pen a host of novels that drew on his tumultuous childhood. In doing so, he held up a critical mirror to an English society largely indifferent to its social ills. [More]