Charles Dickens 
Mrs. Lirriper’s Lodgings [PDF ebook] 

Mrs. Lirriper is a kindly woman who keeps a respectable boarding house. When one of her lodgers dies in childbirth, she and her good friend the Major decide to raise the baby as their own. Everything goes well…until they hear news of the child's father.
This is one of Dickens' lesser-known characters, but she is very memorable and it is worthwhile to hear her story about love and social responsibility. Dickens serialized her story in All The Year Round and used an interesting gimmick to involve.
Charles Dickens is one of England’s most important literary figures. His works enjoyed enormous success in his day and are still regarded as among the most popular and widely read classics of all time.