Super Short Summary

In Dickens, Peter Ackroyd presents a comprehensive biography of Charles Dickens, tracing his journey from an idyllic childhood disrupted by his father's imprisonment for debt, through his struggles as a child laborer, to his eventual fame as a celebrated author known for works like Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol. Dickens's early life included traumatic experiences and significant hardships, including family estrangement and child labor. Ackroyd contextualizes Dickens's literary impact and legacy, emphasizing his poetic language and public readings.