Today we get to meet and know an author who is synonymous with Christmas - Charles Dickens - brought to life in this episode by his great-great grandson, Gerald Dickens. Yes, that's right - you're going to hear an interview with one of our greatest ever writers, who has been dead for over 150 years. Only on Rosebud.

In this fascinating conversation, Dickens tells Gyles about his childhood, growing up in the towns and villages of the Thames estuary in Kent, and how his father's debts led him to be imprisoned in the Marshalsea. The young Charles suddenly found himself put to work, a formative experience which influenced much of his later writing. We hear about his marriage to Catherine Hogarth, and about his mistress, Ellen Ternan. We hear about the terrible Staplehurst train crash, about Charles Dickens's travels in the USA, and about his latter-day success as a performer.

This is a fabulous way to immerse yourself in the story of our greatest novelist, at this most Dickensian time of the year.

With thanks to Gerald Dickens.

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