Fakes, Hacks, and Knock-Offs
Dickens's popularity and the weak copyright laws of his day meant that he suffered from a host of pirates, plagiarisers, impersonators, and copy-cats who stole his work. Whether in cheap paperbacks or on the stage, Dickens was largely powerless to stop people ripping off his stories and characters for profit. He attempted to sue some, and campaigns for stronger copyright laws throughout his life, but perhaps the strongest protection against piracy was the complexity and depth of his later novels which proved too troublesome to imitate.
