Who is Boz?

In December 1833 Charles Dickens' first literary effort was published. It was a sketch or essay entitled A Dinner at Poplar Walk. Other sketches soon followed.

Dickens wanted a memorable way of identifying the sketches as his. He finally picked a nickname for himself. One of his favorite characters in Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield was called Moses. Moses became Boses which became Boz. In 1836 a collection of the essays entitled Sketches by Boz was published and was a great success.