How many novels did Charles Dickens write?
Charles Dickens
Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed readings extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Charles Dickens
In late November 1851, Dickens moved into Tavistock House where he wrote "Bleak House" (1852–53), "Hard Times" (1854), and "Little Dorrit" (1856). It was here that he indulged in the amateur theatricals described in Forster's "Life". During this period he worked closely with the novelist and playwright Wilkie Collins. In 1856, his income from writing allowed him to buy Gad's Hill Place in Higham, Kent. As a child, Dickens had walked past the house and dreamed of living in it. The area was also the scene of some of the events of Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1", and this literary connection pleased him.