Dickens by Peter Ackroyd

Charles Dickens led a full, active, and somewhat peripatetic life as chronicled by Peter Ackroyd in this beautifully written, comprehensive biography. It has a nice balance between Dickens' personal and professional lives and makes an effort to capture an overall portrait of who the man really was. He sprang from a poor family and was affected throughout his life by his father's financial irresponsibility. Working as both writer and editor, Dickens started at least three periodicals where his novels were published serially. His financial success allowed him to support a wife and ten children, often living abroad in France, Italy, and Switzerland. My objective in reading this book was to understand why he separated from his wife, but I really did not learn much more than is described in a novel I am reviewing for my book club.