The Real Charles Dickens is an insightful look into the world of the life and work of the great 19th-century writer. Dickens led one of the most colourful and interesting lives of any author and this book delves into his difficult early life, his emergence as a major novelist, his troubled marriage and suspected relationship with another woman, his trips abroad to Italy and the United States, his late blossoming as a theatrical performer and his work as a social reformer.

The book takes a detailed look at each of his major works, tracing the development of his fiction through one of the most productive periods of world literature. To complement this are original photographs of locations associated with Dickens and the opportunity to follow in his footsteps with some expertly crafted walks around the parts of London most associated with him. There are sections on Dickens’ enduring relationship with the theatre and one detailing the ten children that he and his wife Catherine had together. From his first foray into serialised novels, The Pickwick Papers, to his last, great, unfinished work, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, each of his books is given special attention.

Full of biographical detail and analytical insight, The Real Charles Dickens takes the reader on a journey into the heart of the world that nurtured some of the greatest stories ever written.