Dickens worked on David Copperfield for two years between 1848 and 1850, carefully planning out the plot and structure. Seven novels precede it, and seven novels would come after it, Copperfield being his mid-point novel. The story deals with the life of David Copperfield from childhood to maturity. David is born in England in about 1820. David's father had died six months before he was born, and seven years later, his mother marries Mr Edward Murdstone. David is given good reason to dislike his stepfather and has ...
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Dickens worked on David Copperfield for two years between 1848 and 1850, carefully planning out the plot and structure. Seven novels precede it, and seven novels would come after it, Copperfield being his mid-point novel. The story deals with the life of David Copperfield from childhood to maturity. David is born in England in about 1820. David's father had died six months before he was born, and seven years later, his mother marries Mr Edward Murdstone. David is given good reason to dislike his stepfather and has similar feelings for Mr Murdstone's sister Jane, who moves into the house soon afterwards. Mr Murdstone thrashes David for falling behind with his studies. Following one of these thrashings, David bites him and is sent away to a boarding school, Salem House, with a ruthless headmaster, Mr. Creakle. Here he befriends James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles, both of whom he meets again later on. David returns home for the holidays to find out that his mother has had a baby boy. Soon after David goes back to Salem House, his mother and her baby die and David has to return home immediately. Mr. Murdstone sends him to work in a factory in London, of which Murdstone is a joint owner. The grim reality of hand-to-mouth factory existence echoes Dickens' own travails in a blacking factory. His landlord, Wilkins Micawber, is sent to a debtor's prison (the King's Bench Prison) after going bankrupt, and is there for several months before being released and moving to Plymouth. David now has nobody left to care for him in London, and decides to run away.
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If Dickens is the greatest novelist of all times - and I believe he is - David Copperfield is the greatest of his novels. This book has it all - it will make you cry and laugh, cringe and hate and love. I first started reading it as a 16-17-yearold, and I still read it, some 40 years on. I must have read it at least 25 times over the years. Every time I marvel at how gloriously he writes. I believe that depictions of childhood are the most poignant an author could try on, and not one of them - not even the great ones, like Atwood or Oates - surpass the tale of David Copperfield's childhood. Every one of Dickens' characters come alive, almost every sentence they speak becomes a bon mot in your life. It's like Monty Python - there will always be an excellent quote for every possible situation in your life!
Tarissa
May 24, 2015
Charming, humorous... it's Dickens
No simple words could describe this book better than saying it is "The Personal History, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery, Which He Never Meant to Be Published on Any Account."
Do you catch Dickens humorous mood already? The quotation alone is the real subtitle of the book. And, my, oh my! It's a charming book. A new favorite of mine, in fact. Barely a chapter passed by that I didn't laugh at a scene, or a particular sentence, or even a certain word, the way Dickens wedged it in there.
It is David Copperfield's story - from childhood to adulthood. The characters are beautifully drawn out - Pegotty, the Micawbers - ha! - even the villainous characters too.
My favorite novel from Dickens! I already cannot wait to read this delightful piece of literature again.
"...I should have been perfectly miserable, I have no doubt, but for the old books. They were my only comfort; and I was as true to them as they were to me, and read them over and over I don't know how many times more." (Chapter 10, David Copperfield)
Leslie
May 14, 2011
An Insight into Dickens' Own Life
This book is fiction, but has in it enough autobiographical elements to be interesting. The first person coming-of-age motif -- also seen in Great Expectations -- is not among my favorite literary devices.
The romantic plot contrivances were also hard to swallow. But overall I found Davy to be a sympathetic character who redeems himself well -- unlike how I felt about Pip in Great Expectations, whom I thought was a twit pretty much to the end of the book.
The most engrossing character for me was Steerforth, who incites both anger and pity, sometimes both at once.
Woolymamath
Apr 9, 2007
I hated to put it down
David Copperfield so engaged me I hated to put it down. Many a night I stayed up yawning to read just a little more. I love reading about old-world England , a world where values are clearly defined ( very rare in contemporary literature ); where integrity and hard work are rated highly; the unselfish devotion of Peggoty toward little Em'ly; David's compassion for his child-wife; the strength and determination of his aunt Miss Trotwood. Their story is engaging and moves briskly without lagging. I laughed and cried reading this book. Dickens' characters are unforgettable; either lovable or deliciously repulsive. His choices of names for his characters are colorful and strong. DC inspired me to look at my own life a little differently. I came away from this book with some improvement in my thoughts. Not only was I entertained; I was also inspired. A wonderful gripping read with substance. I hate racing through a good book in an evening or two. I want to be able to enjoy it for a time as I was able to with this book. Very definitely a book worth reading.
