Charles Dickens was born in 1812. Having spent the first three years of his life in Portsmouth, Hampshire, the family moved to London in 1815. His early years seem to have been idyllic. He spent time outdoors, but also read voraciously, especially the icaresque novels of Tobias Smollett and Henry Fielding.


The Wikipedia entry for Charles Dickens

He spoke, later in life, of his poignant memories of childhood, and of his near-photographic memory of the people and events, which he used in his writing. His father's brief period as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office afforded Charles a few years of private education at William Giles's School, in Chatham.