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A begging letter is a letter to a rich person or organisation, usually written by a poor person, or a person claiming to be poor, begging for money or help. Examples of begging letters include where a letter is sent to a wealthy individual asking for financial assistance for orphaned children, emergency surgery, etc. The May 1850 edition of Household Words contained an article entitled The Begging-Letter Writer written by the novelist Charles Dickens. In the article Dickens describes examples of the many begging letters he had received over the years, and the ruses employed by their writers to gain funds from the recipients. Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic.