Charles Dickens: the man, medicine, and movement disorders.

Nineteenth-century Victorian novelists played an important role in developing our understanding of medicine and illness. With the eye of an expert clinician, Charles Dickens provided several detailed accounts of movement disorders in his literary works, many of which predated medical descriptions. His gift for eloquence, imagery, and precision attest not only to the importance of careful clinical observation, but also provide an insightful and entertaining perspective on movement disorders for modern students of neuroscience.