Who Was Charles Dickens - Who Was...? Author:Pamela D. Pollack, Meg Belviso, Mark Edward Geyer (Illustrator) As a child, Charles Dickens worked in a shoe polish factory where his gritty surroundings inspired some of the most memorable characters and settings in literary history. — Known for his masterful storytelling in books like Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and A Christmas Carol, Dickens toured the globe as one of... more » the most famous people of his era. Widely considered the greatest writer of the Victorian age, Dickens’s literary masterpieces continue to amuse and inspire writers and readers alike.« less