This fictional work by Charles Dickens describes the everyday life of people in London in the late nineteenth century. Dickens was much more interested in the 'common man' than in the nobility, so his writing serves us today as a record of the kind of lives they led.

Sketches by "Boz," Illustrative of Every-day Life and Every-day People (commonly known as Sketches by Boz) is a collection of short pieces published by Charles Dickens in 1836 accompanied by illustrations by George Cruikshank. The 56 sketches concern London scenes and people and are divided into four sections: "Our Parish", "Scenes", "Characters", and "Tales". The material in the first three of these sections is non-fiction[citation needed]. The last section comprises fictional stories. Originally, the sketches were published in various newspapers and periodicals from 1833-1836.