Ruth Richardson is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the author of a number of books. The Wall Street Journal described her last book, The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy as "one of those rarities, history that reads like a novel." That book won the 2009 Medical Journalists' Open Book Award.

"Offers a detailed study of the Dickenses' family home and its surrounding neighborhood, as well as an evocative and damning portrait of Britain's de-facto 'prison system to punish poverty.'" --The New Yorker

"Gives an intimately evoked view of Dickens's childhood and the New Poor Law of 1834 by which workhouses became 'a sort of prison system to punish (the poor).'" --Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of Books

"By sprinkling a fairy dust of creativity and imagination over mundane primary sources like maps, rate books, directories and newspapers, [Richardson] has breathed new life into Dickens's early years...This is a delight of a book, fresh and stimulating." --Dickens Quarterly

"Ruth Richardson's fascinating new book takes Oliver Twist as its subject and tells the story of her recent discovery that Dickens grew up only a few doors from the major London workhouse that inspired both the novel and, likely, the novelist's passion for social justice. Showing a deep understanding of the history of cities, the history of city planning, architecture, sociology and even sight-lines, this book is a detailed account of the boy Dickens's neighborhood and its possible influences upon him." --America Magazine