The Chimes: Annotated by Charles Dickens Charles Dickens wrote the novella "The Chimes." in 1844 about the disillusionment of Toby "Trotty" Veck, a poor working-class man. When Trotty loses faith in humanity and believes that his poverty results from his unworthiness, he is visited by spirits on New Year's Eve to help restore his confidence and show him that no one is born evil, but rather that crime and poverty are things created by man.