"Charles Dickens was a great storyteller whose influence and reach extended beyond that normally associated with a novelist. A journalist, commentator, historian and the social conscience of a nation, Dickens possessed the rare ability of documenting the realities of life, and his novels have both challenged and entertained his contemporaries and posterity. But what of Dickens beliefs? And what did Dickens hope to communicate through his writings to an audience that would continue beyond his lifetime? Keith Hooper explores how Charles Dickens tried through his work to change the hearts of his readers. By exploring the nature and development of Dickens's faith, and the means by which it was expressed, we gain new and valuable insight into his literary work. There are many books out there on Charles Dickens, but none that seeks to understand what his faith meant to him, how it was reflected in his writings, or how he struggled with the church of his time."--Publisher's description.