Dickens was once merely a plain old long-tailed macaque living on the coast of Morocco. One day, he found a single banana growing on a lone tree surrounded by an unusually barren field in an otherwise fertile area. Since he was a monkey, he helped himself. Each bite of the banana found him getting more and more intelligent, and half way through he gained true sentience. He gobbled up the rest of the banana and went on his way. He was soon involved with the occult community in Marrakesh. From there, he found out that a powerful sorcerer was furious and out for vengeance for whoever stole the fruit of wisdom he was growing. Dickens hastily stowed away on a ship headed for Gibraltar, and then another one headed to England. From there he became involved in London's occult community acting as an efficient information thief and scavenger, though taking his time and using his vast intelligence to become a learned sorcerer. A few years ago, he was found by Jim Charlesworthy in his father's arcane library. Instead of scrounging for magick lore, he had become distracted by reading Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Jim gave him the name 'Dickens' and decided he was far too interesting and valuable to let go and hired him as an occult researcher. With access to the Charlesworthy Library, Dickens has very recently divined the word of forces, lifting himself up to the level of wizard.
Dickens is employed by Jim Charlesworthy as an occult researcher and underworld contact. Jim has had rigging and swing ropes installed throughout the library so he can dart back and forth with optimum efficiency. His wizard's staff is a gentleman's cane fitted for his size. His public face is a butler called Gerald, who does his shopping, minor meetings for those that don't know him, and other butler activities. Dickens is an avid fan of literature.
