Happy Birthday Charlie. Some of your stories scare the "Dickens" out of me.

this is the wonderful type of action that makes our queen so very special and very well loved by the world. i have appreciated all of charles dickens works and i have shared them with my son,who likewise has fallen for the wonderful literature. i also think of the royal family that lived then,how they were so very blessed to be a part of such a man as charles dickens. thank you, your majesty, for the tremendous foresight that you have always shown as a queen. thank you

It was the best of the London Times, it was the worst of the London Times.

I am a USA anglophile who has visited many of Dickens' haunts and find his writings both inspirational and motivational.

It would be great if the very rich royalty would contribute some of the money they would spend on the bash to the orphanages or other worthy institutions that would benefit from it. I know Dickens and Oliver Twist would have loved that. What a fitting way it would have been to pay homage to one whom I believe is the greatest novelist in the English language. Dickens novels shows his distaste for those who are privileged and treat the poor and working classes badly. His personal experiences were bitter.

BTW, J.K Rowlins in no way compares even closely to Dickens. How dare you say so! Rowilns popularity is propelled mainly by the media hype and the ability of modern technology to vividly put words into pictures, something to which Dickens did not have access. The movies I propose, is what really made Rowlins famous, and it was not her who made the movies. Her words cannot compare with those of Dickens. Read Dickens' novels and the physiognomy and vivid imagery that they bring out are unparalled. I doubt Rowlins will be visible as Dickens will still be in the next 100 years. I raise a glass to Dickens. His books have really inspired me, and I have even realized some of his Great Expectations! Happy Birthday Charles!

Amazing talent...could have written for Jersey Shore!

aw c'mon...Charles would have loved that!

Allan, while I am a great fan of Dickens, I am also a fan of Harry Potter. JK Rowlings early books about the boy wizard were best sellers long before the first movie came out. While I agree that the movies have helped with the popularity of the series, the books themselves have brought the magic of reading to a new generation used to watching movies or playing video games.

I love Charles Dickens work. I have a great many of his stories, both in print and in audio. Happy Birthday Charles. Your words live on.

The Queen recognizes real talent and a contributor to society. Somewhat different from OBama who has little talent and contributes chaos and class friction within society.

In his time, Charles Dickens went from abject poverty to great wealth. What is so distinctive about the man was that he NEVER forgot where he came from. There was never a moment in his life when he forgot the raging inequalities that society in general abides. As so often happens, it would have been easy for him to sit back and bask in his accumulated riches and say to the poor, "I made it, why can't you.", but he never did. He did not go gently into that good night, but raged against man's inhumanity to man. Too bad he can't run for President of the United States!!

Charles Dickens is one of my favorite authors--he's one of the few I collect in hardcover whenever possible. As Joe Dorchack noted, he never forgot that he came from such poverty. I enjoy the fact that I can introduce Dickens to my sons, who also enjoy his literature.

If Dickens had only written this, he would still be notable:
"That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."
- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

I enjoy Dickens a great deal. My favorite Broadway Musical is "Oliver!" based of course on "Oliver Twist". Dickens created many memorable characters that are still part of our culture even to this day. Christmas isn't Christmas without some version of "A Christmas Carol". I enjoy reading the stories as well as the movies, plays, TV specials that have been based on his works.

Thank you Charles for your many hours of losing myself in your world. I'm sorry you never got to complete "The Mystery of Edwin Drood".