Charles Dickens Full name Charles John Huffam Dickens. (1812 – 1870) A famous English writer and social critic. Charles Dickens is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the 20th century critics had recognised him as a literary genius. Great Expectations, published in 1861, is the author’s penultimate completed novel; narrated in the first person, it depicts the personal growth and personal development of an orphan nicknamed Pip. The novel contains some of Dickens' most memorable scenes, and is full of extreme imagery – poverty; prison ships and chains, and fights to the death. It features a colourful cast of characters who have entered popular culture.