David Copperfield

by Charles Dickens

H. K. Browne (Illustrator) and Jeremy Tambling (Notes)

Now a major film directed by Armando Iannucci, starring Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi and Ben Whishaw

'The greatest achievement of the greatest of all novelists' Leo Tolstoy

In David Copperfield - the novel he described as his 'favourite child' - Dickens drew on his own experiences to create one of his most moving and enduringly popular works, filled with tragedy and comedy in equal measure. It is the story of a young man's adventures on his journey from an unhappy childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a novelist. Among the gloriously vivid cast of characters he encounters are his tyrannical stepfather, Mr Murdstone; his brilliant but unworthy school-friend Steerforth; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; frivolous, enchanting Dora; and the magnificently impecunious Micawber, one of literature's great comic creations.

Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Jeremy Tambling

• ISBN10: 0140439447
• ISBN13: 9780140439441
• Publish Date: 24 June 2004 (first published 1 January 1850)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Penguin Classics
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 1024
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780140439441

Reviews

[Linda]

I don't even know how to review this excellent book! It is full of fleshed out and believable characters, some of whom I would love to meet. Of course, it is a brick of a book, but it is so totally worth reading, the story starts with David's birth as it had been told to him, and continues on from there, where he stops and pays more attention to some moments than others.

David's naïvete is so enchanting, and if he was real, I would want to take good care of him. The way he interacts with others is always curtuous and respectful, until someone does something to him or his beloved that makes him lose that respect!

There are a lot of characters, and most of them come and go - and are all fleshed out and seem real. Not many foils at all, and that multidimensionality makes the whole story even more interesting and captivating.

I felt like I was immersed in London with David, the descriptions of places and houses were done so vividly it seemed like I was walking next to him, and sitting next to him when he was talking to other characters.

The language is simple, Dickens is in no way trying to lecture his readers, even if he did tell his readers about social difficulties and problems.

His innocence made him so attaching it was hard on me when the book was over - even after 970 pages!

This is storytelling at it's finest - I recommend this to all of my booklover friends!