Charles Dickens was bom on February 7,1812, in Port sea, England. His parents were middle-class, but they suffered
financially as a result of living beyond their means. When Dickens was twelve years old, his family's dire straits forced
him to quit school and work in a blacking factoiy (where shoe polish was manufactured). Within weeks, his father was put
in debtor's prison, where Dickens's mother and siblings eventually joined him. At this point, Dickens lived on his own and
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