First published as a book in 1850, &quot;David Copperfield&quot; (in full <i>&quot;The Personal History of David Copperfield&quot;)</i><b>&nbsp;</b>is a&nbsp;bildungsroman&nbsp;by English writer&nbsp;Charles Dickens.&nbsp;In &quot;David Copperfield&quot;&mdash;the novel he described as his &ldquo;favorite child&rdquo;&mdash; Dickens drew revealingly on his own experiences to create one of his most exuberant &amp; enduringly popular works, filled with tragedy &amp; comedy in equal measure.<br /><br />&quot;David Copperfield&quot; is the story of a young man&rsquo;s adventures on his journey from an unhappy &amp; impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among the gloriously vivid cast of characters he encounters are his tyrannical stepfather, Mr Murdstone; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; frivolous, enchanting Dora; &amp; the magnificently impecunious Micawber, one of literature&rsquo;s great comic creations.