Charles Dickens started his literary career as a journalist reporting for ‘The Morning Chronicle,’ a profession which encouraged his observing eye. This collection of essays and short stories was first published in that journal and anticipates, and frequently demonstrates, the genius that was to come.

The Sketches ‘Illustrative of Everyday Life and Everyday People’ are a valuable documentary account of existence in the great metropolis during the early part of the nineteenth century and exhibit to the full the waspish wit, joie de vivre and compassion, for which the author was known.

From the humorous gossip of ‘The Curate’ to the informative ‘Scotland Yard’ and on to a campaigning descriptive piece about Newgate Prison, Dickens takes us on a rewarding journey across our capital city, enlivened by the quirks and foibles of its inhabitants.

This is the first of several volumes of Dickens’ journalistic writing to be published in audio format by Assembled Stories. We are sure you will enjoy them.

Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812 –1870), was an English novelist born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, son of a naval pay clerk. He moved to Camden Town in London. His early years were an idyllic time spent outdoors and reading voraciously. He had a photographic memory for people and events that helped bring his fiction to life. His family was moderately well-off, and he received some education at a private school but all that changed when his father, after spending too much money entertaining and retaining his social position, was imprisoned for debt.

At the age of twelve, Dickens was deemed old enough to work and began working for ten hours a day in a boot-blacking factory pasting labels on the jars of thick polish, earning six shillings a week. With this money, he had to pay for his lodging and help to support his family, most of whom were living with his father, who was still incarcerated in the nearby debtors' prison. Dickens never forgave his mother for not removing him from the factory as soon as finances had improved.