Charles Dickens is one of England's best-loved authors.

A literary phenomenon in his own time, his is still immensely popular across the globe, nearly 150 years after his death.

Walter Dexter's classic biography of Dickens, first published in 1937 examines Dickens' life as a journalist, a writer, an actor and, perhaps most importantly, as a reader.

Dickens had great presence on the stage, and the readings he organised of passages of his novels were always a sell-out success.

No-one could bring to life Dickens' characters, with all their humour, sympathy, darkness and light, like Dickens could himself.

He became a celebrity, not just for his serialised, and increasingly popular novels, but for his performance art.

Walter Dexter reflects on Dickens' life to illuminate what shaped the man behind the novels, and what influences he drew from to create his infamous characters.

This short biography is essential reading for anyone wanting to learn more about Charles Dickens the man, the author, and the actor.

Walter Dexter (1877-1944) devoted his leisure time to studying Charles Dickens. He became a member of the Dickens Fellowship in 1905 and spent much of his spare time in travelling throughout England seeking to identify towns, villages and other scenes associated with the life and writing of his favourite author. Relinquishing the Honorary Treasurer of the Dickens Fellowship, a post he had held for some years, he became editor of Fellowship's magazine 'The Dickensian' in 1925 and he held the post until his death. He was also the first Honorary Secretary of the Dickens Fellowship Dramatic Society, formed in 1905. He had also been one of the joint editors, along with Arthur Waugh, Sir Hugh Walpole and Thomas Hatton, of the splendid Nonesuch Editions of Dickens' works and had been solely responsible for the monumental undertaking of preparing three volumes of Dickens' letters, the most complete collection ever made to that time, running to almost 2500 pages. After his death a Walter Dexter Memorial Fund was established to ensure that his name would be associated in perpetuity with The Dickens House at Doughty Street, as he was closely associated, with B W Matz, in the concept of securing the House as a centre, a museum, and a library from which to foster the love of the novelist and his works.

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