Christmas Stories (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780997281736)

Nearly one hundred fifty years after his death, Charles Dickens remains one of the most popular English-language writers. As a chronicler of the human condition, he created characters-some are kind and virtuous, many are quirky and humorous, others epitomize evil-that leave an indelible mark on their reader. A world traveler and crusader against injustice, for years Dickens's energies seemed to have no limits, as he continued to expose the hypocrisy of Victorian society through his writing. In 1853, he took on a new responsibility: giving public readings of his works for charitable purposes. Finding that public readings could be more lucrative than writing, in 1858, he began giving performances on the professional lecture circuit, where he was in great demand in England and abroad. It was while on a reading tour in the United States in late 1867 and early 1868 that Dickens's health began to fail, which prompted his return to England. Exhausted from his many ventures, Dickens was at work on what would be his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, when he died June 9, 1870. He was fifty-eight years old.