Heralded as one of the best—if not the best—novelists of the Victorian era, Charles Dickens longed for fame from an early age. And, after a difficult childhood beset by financial troubles, he set out ...

Bob Peck as Mr Gradgrind from the BBC adaptation of Hard Times (1994) Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else ...