Charles Dickens Dickens enjoyed reading as a youth. Dickens was the most popular novelist of his time, and remains one of the best-known and most-read of English authors. His works have never gone out of print, and have been adapted continually for the screen since the invention of cinema, with at least 200 motion pictures and TV adaptations based on Dickens's works documented. Many of his works were adapted for the stage during his own lifetime, and as early as 1913, a silent film of "The Pickwick Papers" was made. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded
David Copperfield (character) David Copperfield (character) David Copperfield, Jr. is the protagonist after which the 1850 Charles Dickens novel, "David Copperfield", was named. The character is widely thought to be based on Dickens himself, incorporating many elements of his own life. Scholars believe that David Copperfield's childhood, career, friendships, and love life were highly influenced by Dickens' experiences, especially his time working in a factory as a child. David's involvement with the law profession and later his career as a writer mirror the experiences of Dickens. Many of David's acquaintances are based on people Dickens actually knew. David's first wife, Dora Spenlow, is