Charles Dickens was one of the most popular English writers of all time. He created some of the world most well-known fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. Born in Portsmouth, England, on 7 February, 1812, Dickens was the second of eight children. The protagonist of the book is Philip pirrip, who is known by his nickname Pip. In the very beginning, he is introduced by Dickens as a young boy who lives with his sister and her husband because he was orphaned at a very young age. He is scared by a convict who asks him to steal food and a file to grind his iron shackles, while he is sitting in a cemetery looking at his parents tombstones. Out of great fear, Pip obeys his instructions, but the convict is captured before long.