Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius

Born to a life of obscurity and dark despair, his genius made him one of the most successful and beloved figures of his time. Internationally famous just months after his first novel was serialized, Charles Dickens was among the world's first literary stars. But success and acclaim could not banish the ghosts of his childhood marked by his father's confinement in debtors' prison or keep him from the deep loneliness that haunted him until his death. This extraordinary program tells the full story of Dickens' remarkable life, from his year as a child laborer to his troubled marriage, his love affairs and the spectacular successes of Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities. Biography presents an unforgettable look at the man whose originality, compassion and exuberance created some of literature's most cherished works.