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David Copperfield

This article is about the novel by Charles Dickens. For the American illusionist, see David Copperfield (illusionist). For other uses, see David Copperfield (disambiguation).

David Copperfield
Cover, first serial edition of 1849
AuthorCharles Dickens
Original titleThe Personal History, Adventures,
Experience and Observation
of David Copperfield
the Younger
of Blunderstone Rookery
IllustratorHablot Knight Browne (Phiz)
Cover artistHablot Knight Browne (Phiz)
LanguageEnglish
GenresNovel, Bildungsroman
PublishedSerialised May 1849 – November 1850; book format 1850
PublisherBradbury & Evans
Publication placeEngland
Media typePrint
Pages624 (first book edition)[1]
Preceded byDombey and Son 
Followed byBleak House 

David Copperfield[N 1] is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to maturity. As such, it is typically categorized in the bildungsroman genre. It was published as a serial in 1849 and 1850 and then as a book in 1850.

David Copperfield is also a partially autobiographical novel:[2] "a very complicated weaving of truth and invention",[3] with events following Dickens's own life.[4] Of the books he wrote, it was his favourite.[5] Called "the triumph of the art of Dickens",[6][7] it marks a turning point in his work, separating the novels of youth and those of maturity.[8]

At first glance, the work is modelled on 18th-century "personal histories" that were very popular, like Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews or Tom Jones, but David Copperfield is a more carefully structured work. It begins, like other novels by Dickens, with a bleak picture of childhood in Victorian England, followed by young Copperfield's slow social ascent, as he painfully provides for his aunt, while continuing his studies.[9]

Dickens wrote without an outline, unlike his previous novel, Dombey and Son. Some aspects of the story were fixed in his mind from the start, but others were undecided until the serial publications were underway.[10] The novel has a primary theme of growth and change, but Dickens also satirises many aspects of Victorian life. These include the plight of prostitutes, the status of women in marriage, class structure, the criminal justice system, the quality of schools, and the employment of children in factories.[11]

  1. ^ McCrum, Robert (30 December 2013). "The 100 best novels: No 15 – David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  2. ^ Davis 1999, pp. 85, 90
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference CDLettersp515 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schlicke1999p158 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Dickens, Charles (1917). "Preface". The personal history and experience of David Copperfield the younger. Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction. P F Collier & Son – via Bartleby.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Monod1968 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Davis1999p92 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Davis 1999, pp. 85, 92
  9. ^ Davis 1999, p. 85
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schlicke1999p151 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference British Library was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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