David Copperfield

‘Of all my books,’ wrote Charles Dickens, ‘I like this the best. Like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.’

Dickens himself had a difficult, unhappy childhood, and young David’s life is not at all easy. His father died before he was born, and when he is eight, his mother marries again. Her new husband, Mr Murdstone, is stern and cruel, and so is his disagreeable sister, the stony-faced Miss Murdstone. As he grows up, David meets many unpleasant people – cruel schoolmasters, wicked friends, and the evil Uriah Heep, with his oily smile.

But there are other people in David’s life too. There is Peggotty, his kind loving nurse, and slow Mr Barkis, a man of very few words. There is David’s aunt, who tries hard to be stern but who has a heart of gold. There are the unlucky Micawbers, cheerful and despairing by turns, always waiting for something to ‘turn up’. There is quiet gentle Agnes, always a true and wise friend. And then there is Dora, the loveliest girl you ever saw, with her golden hair and blue eyes – sweet, pretty, silly Dora …

David Copperfield

Mrs Clara Copperfield, David’s mother

Peggotty, the Copperfields’ servant

Daniel Peggotty, her brother

Mr Edward Murdstone, David’s stepfather

Miss Murdstone, Mr Murdstone’s sister

Mr Barkis, a cart driver

Mr Micawber, an unsuccessful businessman

Mrs Micawber, his wife

Miss Betsey Trotwood, David’s aunt

Mr Dick, Miss Trotwood’s companion

Mr Wickfield, Miss Trotwood’s lawyer

Agnes, Mr Wickfield’s daughter

Uriah Heep, Mr Wickfield’s assistant

Mrs Heep, Uriah Heep’s mother

Mr Spenlow, a lawyer

Dora, Mr Spenlow’s daughter

Miss Julia Mills, Dora’s friend

I was born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk, in the east of England, and was given my poor father’s name, David Copperfield. Sadly, he never saw me. He was much older than my mother when they married, and died six months before I was born. My father’s death made my beautiful young mother very unhappy, and she knew she would find life extremely difficult with a new baby and no husband.

The richest and most important person in our family was my father’s aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood. She had in fact been married once, to a handsome young husband. But because he demanded money from her, and sometimes beat her, she decided they should separate. He went abroad, and soon news came of his death. Miss Trotwood bought a small house by the sea, and lived there alone, with only one servant.

She had not spoken to my father since his marriage, because she considered he had made a mistake in marrying a very young girl. But just before I was born, when she heard that my mother was expecting a baby, she came to visit Blunderstone.

It was a cold, windy Friday afternoon in March. My mother was sitting by the fire, feeling very lonely and unhappy, and crying a little. Suddenly a stern, strange-looking face appeared at the window.