This is the novel Dickens regarded as his 'favourite child' & is considered his most autobiographical. As David recounts his experience from childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist Dickens draws openly & revealingly on his own life. Among the gloriously vivid cast of characters are Rosa Dartle Dora Steerforth & the 'umble Uriah Heep along with Mr Micawber a portrait of Dickens' own father evoking a mixture of love nostalgia & guilt.