Charles Dickens was a social critic.
Charles John Huffam Dickens ( [ ˈdɪkᵻnz ] 7 February 1812 -- 9 June 1870 ) was an English writer and social critic . Dickens has been praised by fellow writers -- from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton -- for his realism , comedy , prose style , unique characterisations , and social criticism .