Authorial+Background

 Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire England. After his father was imprisoned for his immense debt, Charles, the oldest, was taken out of school and sent to work in a factory. It was his experiences during this time that would shape most of his writing. In 1833, Dickens began to write short stories for his editorial. This was the start of his writing success and in 1836 he married Catherine Hogarth and had nine children with her before their separation in 1858. He began to publish annual Christmas stories which created A Christmas Carol in 1843. Dickens died suddenly of a stroke on June 9, 1870, never being able to finish his last novel. (http://www.leninimports.com/charles_dickens.html)

Gregory Maguire whas born in Albany, New York on June 9, 1954. His mother died in childbirth and was mostly taken care of by his aunt throughout his early childhood. He recieved his Ph.D. in English a Tufts University. Starting off writing children's books, Maguire wrote his first adult novel in 1995 entitled //Wicked: The Lifes and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.// After this success, Maguire began writing spin off from other books such as //Mirror, Mirror// from Snow white and //Lost// from //A Christmas Carol.// His book //Wicked,// has now been made into a Tony- Award winning musical on Broadway. He curretnly lives near Boston with his family. ([])