Charles Dickens 200th birthday marked today

February 12, 2012 marks the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens, the man who gave us classic books such as Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities.

The Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum, which is based in Portsmouth, UK, will be holding a number of events throughout 2012 to celebrate the bicentenary of Dickens' birth.  Numerous events have been held and there are plenty more planned to mark the occasion.  On Tuesday, events in Portsmouth began at 10.00am and throughout the day.  Local schools took part, ceremonies and speeches were made and a thanksgiving service was also held.

Such was Dickens' impact on the literary world, his birth is being celebrated with events throughout the world.

Anyone who hasn't read Dickens' work can now do so for free or at little cost.  His work is out of copyright and Amazon offer free Kindle downloads and an entire collection of Dickens is available for just 99p. 

Free eBook Classics

The Book Depository are currently offering free eBooks. They've got more than 11,000 available. Books cover all genres and some of the best known authors are available including Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling and George Elliot.

How to find them:

When you go to The Book Depository homepage you'll find a link for 11,000 eBooks. It's next to the link where you have the chance to win a Netbook. You'll then find the list of some of the most popular authors and there's a banner at the bottom which you need to click to take you to the page you need. To the left of the page you can choose the category that you want.

Requirements for Downloading

You just need to be able to read PDF files. Underneath each book is the price and the free eBook link, click on that option and you'll get taken to the download page.

There aren't any additional costs and you don't need to check out.