David Copperfield | Preface to the Charles Dickens Edition (1867) | Summary

Summary

Charles Dickens says he feels sad about saying goodbye to the story characters he has come to like so much. He feels as if he's "dismissing some portion of himself into the shadowy world." Dickens confides to the reader that of all his books, he likes this one best. He compares himself to a fond parent, calling David Copperfield his "favo[u]rite child."

Analysis

Charles Dickens created such memorable characters in David Copperfield that it's understandable he would miss their company when he finished the novel. This is the first time Dickens had written a novel in the first-person, and this narrative approach might have prompted him to imbue his characters with more of his own memories and emotions than he usually relied on for his creative approach.