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Passage Illustrated: David meets Uriah's Mother in her Umble Home

"Oh, I don’t doubt that, Master Copperfield," he answered; "not in the least. But not being umble yourself, you don’t judge well, perhaps, for them that are. I won’t provoke my betters with knowledge, thank you. I’m much too umble. Here is my umble dwelling, Master Copperfield!"

We entered a low, old-fashioned room, walked straight into from the street, and found there Mrs. Heep, who was the dead image of Uriah, only short. She received me with the utmost humility, and apologized to me for giving her son a kiss, observing that, lowly as they were, they had their natural affections, which they hoped would give no offence to anyone. It was a perfectly decent room, half parlour and half kitchen, but not at all a snug room. The tea-things were set upon the table, and the kettle was boiling on the hob. There was a chest of drawers with an escritoire top, for Uriah to read or write at of an evening; there was Uriah’s blue bag lying down and vomiting papers; there was a company of Uriah’s books commanded by Mr. Tidd; there was a corner cupboard: and there were the usual articles of furniture. I don’t remember that any individual object had a bare, pinched, spare look; but I do remember that the whole place had.

It was perhaps a part of Mrs. Heep’s humility, that she still wore weeds. Notwithstanding the lapse of time that had occurred since Mr. Heep’s decease, she still wore weeds. I think there was some compromise in the cap; but otherwise she was as weedy as in the early days of her mourning.

"This is a day to be remembered, my Uriah, I am sure," said Mrs. Heep, making the tea, "when Master Copperfield pays us a visit." [Chapter XVII, "Somebody Turns Up," 255]

Commentary: David goes to tea at the Heeps'

The teatime scene with Micawber turning up in the October 1849 serial plate was a classic Dickensian coincidence upon which Furniss may have been tempted to comment in his own treatment of the unexpected conjunction. However, to do so would necessarily have shifted the reader's attention from the unctious Heeps and towards the loquacious arrival in the doorway of the Canterbury cottage. Rather, Furniss shows the son and mother as angular, large-scale figures with a strong facial resemblance. All the domestic realia from the Phiz engraving are present, but concentrated in a reoriented plate seem oppressive. The table, in particular, seems far too small for the tea service, and Uriah appears to be sitting on it. The villain's demonic face and long, bony fingers are suitably menacing, as the social-climbing clerk, pumping Dr. Strong's beautifully tailored pupil for information, studies their guest critically. Here is a force to be reckoned with.

From the First Edition: David discovers another atypical family

Phiz's December 1849 steel engraving of the odious Heeps in their parlour: Somebody Turns Up.

Other Studies of Uriah Heep from Other Editions (1867-1910)

eft: ​Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s dual character study of the 'umble pair: Uriah Heep and his Mother (Diamond Edition, 1867). Centre: Fred Barnard's Household Edition study of the oily villain: "Oh, thank you, Master Copperfield," said Uriah Heep, "for that remark! It is so true! Umble as I am, I know it is so true! Oh, thank you, Master Copperfield!". (1872). Right: Kyd's vivid watercolour study of an indelible character: Uriah Heep (c. 1910). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]

Relevant Illustrated Editions of this Novel (1849 through 1910)

• Hablot Knight Browne's Forty steel engravings for the Chapman and Hall Edition (May 1849 through November 1850)
• O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 1, 1863)
• O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 2, 1863)
• Sir John Gilbert's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 3, 1863)
• O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 4, 1863)
• Sol Eytinge, Junior's 16 wood engravings for the Diamond Edition (1867)
• Fred Barnard's 62 Composite Woodblock Engravings for the Household Edition (1872)
• Clayton J. Clarke (Kyd): No. 38 in the John Player Cigarette Cards: Uriah Heep (1910)

Bibliography

Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. Oxford and New York: Oxford U. P., 1988.

Davis, Paul. Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998.

Dickens, Charles. The Personal History of David Copperfield, illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz"). The Centenary Edition. London & New York: Chapman & Hall, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911. 2 vols.

_______. The Personal History of David Copperfield. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Jr. The Diamond Edition. 14 vols. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. Vol. V.

_______. David Copperfield, with 61 illustrations by Fred Barnard. Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. III.

_______. The Personal History and Experiences of David Copperfield. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. London: Educational Book Company, 1910. Vol. X.

Hammerton, J. A., ed. The Dickens Picture-Book: A Record of the the Dickens Illustrations. London: Educational Book, 1910.

Steig, Michael. Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington & London: Indiana U.P., 1978.

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Created 7 March 2022