Charles Dickens was born in 1812 near Portsmouth where his father was a clerk in the navy pay office. The family moved to London in 1823, but their fortunes were severely impaired. Dickens was sent to work in a blacking-warehouse when his father was imprisoned for debt. Both experiences deeply affected the future novelist. In 1833, he began contributing stories to newspapers and magazines, and in 1836 started the serial publication of The Pickwick Papers. Thereafter, Dickens published his major novels over the course of the next twenty years, from Nicholas Nickleby to Little Dorrit. He also edited the journals Household Words and All the Year Round. Dickens died in June 1870.

Sir Patrick Stewart has conquered all mediums during his long and illustrious career. A classically trained theater actor and an Associate Artist of The Royal Shakespeare Company for more than forty years, Stewart has been nominated for and won numerous awards, including the Olivier Award. His credits include the iconic roles of Jean-Luc Picard in the highly popular television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film franchise. Find out more at PatrickStewart.org and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @SirPatStew.