y and taught himself shorthand. At the age of sixteen, Charles Dickens found work as a court reporter. Later he joined the Mirror of Parliament, a newspaper that reported the daily proceedings of Parliament. Perhaps developing the power of precise description made his creative writing so detailed, descriptive, and outstanding. Dickens became interested in the subject of social reform and started contributing articles to the radical newspaper, the True Sun. Despite having to charge the heavy tax imposed on newspapers, the True Sun sold 30,000 copies a day. In his articles, Dickens used his knowledge of what went on in the House of Commons to help make changes in parliament. Charles Dickens was pleased when Parliament eventually agreed to pass the 1832 Reform Act. In 1833 Charles Dickens had his first story published in the Monthly Magazine. Using the pen name of 'Boz', Dickens also began contributing short stories to the Morning Chronicle and the Evening Chronicle. These stories were so popular that they were collected together and published as a book entitled Sketches by Boz. In 1835 he met and became engaged to Catherine Hogarth. Dickens earned enough money to marry Catherine Hogarth on April 2, 1836. During the same year he became editor of Bentley's Miscellany, published the second series of Sketches by Boz, and met John Forster, who would become his closest friend and confidant as well as his first biographer. The success of Pickwick Papers, Dickens first novel made him famous. Oliver Twist, and Nicholas Nickleby followed this. Dickens was now the most popular writer in Britain and over the next few years he wrote a series of popular novels including The Old Curiosity Shop, Barnaby Rudge, Martin Chuzzlewit. Dickens is probably most remembered at Christmas time because of his novel A Christmas Carol that is my all time favorite Christmas story. Dickens also decided to invest some of his royalties in a new radical newspaper, The Dail...
