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Dickens's fiction appeared frequently from the popular journals of the day, such as Bentley's Miscellany along with his own periodical, Household Words (which conducted in 1850 to 1859). From 1850, at the age of 38, Dickens had established himself as a real literary celebrity (possibly along the lines of today's J.K. Rowling).

Really, such as J.K. Rowling, Dickens's key claim to fame is twofold: first, '' he writes enduring characters which everyone remembers -- and we expect that, after researching David Copperfield with us, you'll see why no one could forget Uriah Heep, even in the event that you may need to. And second, Dickens is excellent at blending comedy with serious questions about social justice. For Rowling, that social conscience largely deals with bigger issues of right and wrong: how do we recognize and combat evil without becoming Dolores Umbridge? For Dickens, he describes more particular injustices: cruelty to kids, the mistreatment of women, and urban poverty and debt. Despite enormous differences in setting, what the worlds of Harry Potter and David Copperfield share in common is a mild touch with each one of these heavy problems, which keeps us amused even while provoking us to think.

So, anyhow, let us get back to David Copperfield. Let's assume that it is 1849, you're Charles Dickens, and everyone likes you. Folks are mobbing you on your autograph, you've made a fair sum of money, and that which seems to be coming up roses. What do you do next? Well, naturally, you opt to write an autobiography: everyone is really interested in you, so why don't you give them more of what they need? So Dickens starts up his autobiography, which soon feeds into the storyline of the most personal novel, David Copperfield. Interestingly, however, David Copperfield is autobiographical-ish; it differs from Charles Dickens's own life in some vital ways.

Dickens had a really painful early life. His father was thrown into debtors prison at 1822 at London, and young Dickens was sent to work in a blacking factory (where boot polish was bottled and labeled available) when he was ten years old. Back in 1824, miniature Dickens was rescued from the factory and delivered to the Wellington Academy at North London, however, the college was abusive, impoverished, and dreadful, and he abandoned in 1826 at the age of 14. Dickens went on to work as a law clerk and then journalist, gradually clawing his way to fame and fortune (origin: "Introduction" to David Copperfield. Each of these details, in varying sequence, make it into David Copperfield. But, Dickens' real love life and union was rather different from what David Copperfield encounters.

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