'No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.'

'Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.'

- 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life"

Despite his sometimes caustic satire, Dickens was ultimately an optimist

Michael Slater, a professor of Victorian literature at Birkbeck College, notes that Dickens' anger at Parliament and social injustice never got in the way of his optimism. "There is a constant allegiance to the lives of ordinary people and their pleasures," he said in a 2001 interview with "In Our Time."

'No one has ever become poor by giving.'

- Anne Frank (1929-1945)

'How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.' - Anne Frank

'I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot ... The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.'

- Author Jack London (1876 - 1916)

Dickens' 'Christmas Carol' emphasized charity as central component of the holiday

During Dickens' time, Christmas was primarily associated with celebration, but "A Christmas Carol" defined the holiday as an opportunity to give to others. Dickens hoped that the story—with the miserly Scrooge experiencing a change of heart when he realizes he should care for the less fortunate—would convince readers to recognize they should do the same.

Charles Dickens transformed Christmas into an important family-centric holiday

When Charles Dickens published "A Christmas Carol" in 1843, its story of an old man's redemption helped reshape the holiday, popularizing themes of generosity, reflection, and family that transformed the Christmas season.

When Dickens was 12, his father was imprisoned for debt

John Dickens was imprisoned at Marshalsea Debtors' Prison in London for failing to pay his debts. The experience forced the young Charles to leave school to help provide for his family. It also eventually informed his fiction, which often called for social reform, including the abolition of debtors' prisons.

'There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.'

- Jane Austen, from "Emma"

Read the works of Charles Dickens

Dickens' work has long been in the public domain, meaning it's freely available to readers. Project Gutenberg's collection of Dickens' novels allows you to read classic novels like "Oliver Twist" and "A Tale of Two Cities," as well as early works like "Sketches by Boz," at no cost.

'All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.'

- "The Lord of the Rings" author JRR Tolkien (1892-1973)

Dickens' childhood job influenced his novels

After his father was imprisoned, Dickens took up work in a shoe-blacking factory. His novels often featured hardscrabble protagonists, many of them children, forced to navigate the grim realities of the Industrial Revolution. Today, stories that follow in that model are described as "Dickensian."

'Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.'

Meyer Wolfsheim in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"

'Trust is one of the greatest economic forces on earth' - Charlie Munger

A quote by Herman Melville

"Whoever is not in the possession of leisure can hardly be said to possess independence."

'Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.'

- "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)

'Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul—and sings the tunes without the words—and never stops at all.'

- Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

'When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.''

- Mister Rogers (1928-2003)

'Mutual ignorance breeds mutual distrust.'

- Businessman Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919)

None of Dickens' books has gone out of print

Dickens was a literary celebrity during his lifetime, but his popularity has endured over a century after his death. Publishers have kept his books in print to satisfy demand. It's paid off: "A Tale of Two Cities" alone has sold over 200 million copies.

'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'

- Playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Fans loved a minor character, so Dickens made him a major part of 'Pickwick'

Dickens' first serialized novel, "The Pickwick Papers," was selling modestly until he introduced the wisecracking Sam Weller, a cockney character that working-class readers instantly loved. In response to the attention, Dickens made Weller a central figure in the book, turning the series into a bestseller.

'Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.'

- Inventor Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)

'A good friend is like a four-leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have.'

- Irish Proverb

'And I knew that it was better to live out one's absurdity than to die for that of others.'

-Ralph Ellison, from "Invisible Man" (1913-1994)

'Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.'

- Maya Angelou

Dickens' earliest pieces were under the pseudonym 'Boz'

Dickens began working as a journalist in 1829, publishing his portraits of modern life under a pseudonym. In 1834, he used the pen name "Boz," a reference to his brother's childhood nickname, and eventually published a collection of his stories called "Sketches by Boz." By the 1840s, he'd ditched the pseudonym, enjoying his rarefied literary celebrity.

After finding success as a novelist, Dickens started his own newspaper

Dickens made enough from "Sketches by Boz," "The Pickwick Papers," and "Oliver Twist," that he was able to work full time as a novelist. Still, he was still interested in journalism and decided to publish his own newspaper, the Daily News, in 1846. After 17 issues, he felt he no longer had time to focus on his novels and handed the operation off to a friend.

'I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.'

- Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

'Hearts are the strongest when they beat in response to noble ideals.'

- American diplomat Ralph Bunche (1904–1971)

'A Christmas Carol' was originally going to be a political pamphlet

Dickens planned to write a treatise on the day's social issues and had a particularly dry working title: "An Appeal to the People of England on behalf of the Poor Man's Child." After a week, though, he decided to rework the ideas into a fictional story, working at a quick pace so it could be released in time for Christmas. It worked: The story was published on December 19, 1843.

'Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.'

- Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

Scholars believe Dickens wrote over a million words of nonfiction

The author began writing professionally in his teens, first as a court reporter, then for many papers, penning op-eds, criticism, and other miscellany. While Dickens is often discussed as a novelist, he has a massive corpus of works situated in reality.

'I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.'

- Martha Washington (1731-1802)

'I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.'

- Modern nursing innovator Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

'No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come.'

-Author Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

'Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.'

- Albert Einstein

'Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a persons own mind—than on the externals in the world.'

- George Washington (1732-1799)

'Her own thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions.'

- Legendary author Jane Austen (1775 -1817)

A quote by scientist Nikola Tesla

"The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result ... His duty is to lay the foundation for those who are to come, and point the way."

A quote by award-winning actor Tom Hanks

"We are still in the position of waking up and having a choice. Do I make the world better today somehow, or do I not bother?"

Mark Twain once panned 'A Christmas Carol'

The American writer was not a fan of the book, finding it shallow. In an 1867 review, he wrote, "There is no heart. No feeling—it is nothing but glittering frostwork."

A teenage Dickens found work as a political journalist

Dickens found work as a reporter for the Mirror of Parliament, a weekly newspaper focused on the British legislature. After a few years, he moved to the Morning Chronicle, where he began producing his creative work. Professor John Drew, author of "Dickens, the Journalist," said that the writer "realized he could wield a much more direct, if not more glamorous kind of power, by using his position as a leading writer of fiction and a magazine editor."

'The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.'

- Mark Twain, from "Pudd'nhead Wilson and Other Tales"

'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.'

-Inventor and businessman Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

'I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.'

- Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992)

'Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.'

- Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) in "Elenora"

Twain read (and lampooned) classic literature

Ever the ironist, Twain claimed to have “ no liking for novels or stories.” Obviously, that was untrue: He read widely, devouring books by Charles Dickens, slave narratives, and texts on astronomy. He also loved John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” which he called “something everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”

'Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.'

- Jane Addams (1860-1935)

A quote from Robin Williams

"There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot."