In this new volume, historian and award-winning author Lucinda Hawksley explores the life of her great-great-great-grandfather, Charles Dickens (1812–70)—one of the first people to whom the term “celebrity” in its modern sense was applied, and whose extensive circle of friends and associates included many of the most eminent and influential figures of the Victorian age. The ninth title in The National Portrait Gallery Companions series, Charles Dickens and His Circle is a compact, fully illustrated historical guide to a literary personality and the movement that surrounded him. Illustrated with works from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection, including both familiar and less well-known portraits of Dickens and his contemporaries, this is a unique and accessible reader on the beloved English novelist and social critic.