Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England in 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished.
Professor John Gilbert, Central Science Laboratory Sand Hutton, York, UK
Dr Hamide Z. Senyuva, Ankara Test and Analysis Laboratory, Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, Ankara, Turkey
Both of the editors are employed in government organisations responsible for food safety and have published extensively on the analysis of toxicants and process contaminants and measures to monitor and control levels. Professor Gilbert has been Editor-in-Chief of the journal Food Additives and Contaminants since 2000.
