John Peerybingle lives a modest but happy life with his young and beautiful wife Dot. When he takes in a stranger on the road, Dot is quick to agree and seems to enjoy the mysterious man's company. John, who has never doubted his wife's faithfulness before, wonders if something is the matter. The Cricket on the Hearth is one of Charles Dickens's classic Christmas books, and portrays the ideal Victorian home and calls the readers to strive for it and its happiness. CHARLES DICKENS [1812–1870], born in Portsmouth, England, was the most popular English-language novelist of his time. He created a fictional world that reflected the social and technological changes during the Victorian era. Among his most famous works are David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, and The Pickwick Papers.