Ronne Randall, originally from New York, has worked in children's publishing since 1980 and has been a freelance editor and author since 1993.

She has written more than 150 children's books, published on both sides of the Atlantic. She has a special interest in folklore and fairy tales, and she has an MA in Folklore from Sheffield University.

She is married, with one son, and lives in Nottinghamshire, England.

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and became the most popular novelist of the Victorian era.

A prolific writer, he published more than a dozen novels in his lifetime, including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and Hard Times, most of which have been adapted many times over for radio, stage and screen.