Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsea, on the southern coast of England. His first novel was The Pickwick Papers published in 1836. In February 1837, he began writing his second novel Oliver Twist, or The Parish Boy's Progress, under the pseudonym " Boz", in the form of monthly instalments in the magazine Bentley's Miscellany. Charles Dickens always saw himself as a rather serious writer. He felt that his mission in life was to speak for the poor and downtrodden. Throughout his life, Dickens published 14 major novels, many plays, a large number of short stories, and several other books and articles. Some of his famous novels include David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.