Charles John Huffam Dickens was born in Portsea, near Portsmouth, on February 7, 1812. His father, John Dickens, consistently lived beyond his means, and the family's standard of living declined steadily throughout Charles's childhood. His father was finally sent to the Marshalsea Prison for debt in 1824, and Dickens was forced to work in a shoe-blacking factory. Later in life, Dickens refused to talk about the five months he spent performing menial labour. His first biographer, John Forster, learned about it accidentally. ...