All great writers must start somewhere. With Charles Dickens it was working in a blacking factory and not much later, becoming a law office clerk. With Melissa Bank, and the little we know of her, the earliest thing we can determine from her is that her higher education was at Cornell University. However, I'm sure these two authors have a common link somewhere, right?
Charles Dickens, being a renowned author throughout the world, is an easy subject to write a bio on. He grew up in a city outside of London, where his father worked as a clerk in a navy pay office. Though he was well paid, Dickens' father often wound up with financial troubles. Due to this, the Dickens family was forced to move into the Marshalea debtor's prison. After this time, Charles' life began to pick up and he started attending Wellington House Academy in London.
Charles Dickens, circa 1860
Copy of a Photograph of Charles Dickens
Copy of Sketch of Charles DickensHe then moved to Mr. Dawson's school in 1827 and soon after began working as a law office clerk and a shorthand reporter at Doctor's Commons. These jobs soon led to others including being a writer for five different newspapers, a magazine and an editor for Bentley's Miscellany and the London Daily News. The experience of being a journalist left Dickens' with the ability to define characters through their own words. In 1833 he began to write short stories and essays, which were to appear in periodicals. Charles began writing novels just about every two years, most of which only appeared in monthly installments in the local papers. His books were based around his life experiences including his experience of working in a factory, the French Revolution and the "underworld" of London.
A newcomer to the writing world, Melissa Bank does not have much under her belt, per say.