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Title: David Copperfield
Series: ----------
Author: Charles Dickens
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 853
Words: 357.5K
Series: ----------
Author: Charles Dickens
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 853
Words: 357.5K
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Synopsis:
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From Wikipedia
The
story follows the life of David Copperfield from childhood to
maturity. David was born in Blunderstone, Suffolk, England, six
months after the death of his father. David spends his early years in
relative happiness with his loving, childish mother and their kindly
housekeeper, Clara Peggotty. They call him Davy. When he is seven
years old his mother marries Edward Murdstone. To get him out of the
way, David is sent to lodge with Peggotty's family in Yarmouth. Her
brother, fisherman Mr Peggotty, lives in a beached barge, with his
adopted relatives Emily and Ham, and an elderly widow, Mrs Gummidge.
"Little Em'ly" is somewhat spoiled by her fond foster
father, and David is in love with her. They call him Master
Copperfield.
On
his return, David is given good reason to dislike his stepfather, who
believes exclusively in firmness, and has similar feelings for
Murdstone's sister Jane, who moves into the house soon afterwards.
Between them they tyrannize his poor mother, making her and David's
lives miserable, and when, in consequence, David falls behind in his
studies, Murdstone attempts to thrash him – partly to further pain
his mother. David bites him and soon afterwards is sent away to Salem
House, a boarding school, under a ruthless headmaster named Mr
Creakle. There he befriends an older boy, James Steerforth, and Tommy
Traddles. He develops an impassioned admiration for Steerforth,
perceiving him as someone noble, who could do great things if he
would, and one who pays attention to him.
David
goes home for the holidays to learn that his mother has given birth
to a baby boy. Shortly after David returns to Salem House, his mother
and her baby die, and David returns home immediately. Peggotty
marries the local carrier, Mr Barkis. Murdstone sends David to work
for a wine merchant in London – a business of which Murdstone is a
joint owner. David's landlord, Wilkins Micawber, is arrested for debt
and sent to the King's Bench Prison, where he remains for several
months, before being released and moving to Plymouth. No one remains
to care for David in London, so he decides to run away, with Micawber
advising him to head to Dover, to find his only known remaining
relative, his eccentric and kind-hearted great-aunt Betsey Trotwood.
She had come to Blunderstone at his birth, only to depart in ire upon
learning that he was not a girl. However, she takes pity on him and
agrees to raise him, despite Murdstone's attempt to regain custody of
David, on condition that he always try to 'be as like his sister,
Betsey Trotwood' as he can be, meaning that he is to endeavour to
emulate the prospective namesake she was disappointed not to have.
David's great-aunt renames him "Trotwood Copperfield" and
addresses him as "Trot", one of several names David is
called by in the novel.
David's
aunt sends him to a better school than the last he attended. It is
run by Dr Strong, whose methods inculcate honour and self-reliance in
his pupils. During term, David lodges with the lawyer Mr Wickfield,
and his daughter Agnes, who becomes David's friend and confidante.
Wickfield's clerk, Uriah Heep, also lives at the house.
By
devious means, Uriah Heep gradually gains a complete ascendancy over
the aging and alcoholic Wickfield, to Agnes's great sorrow. Heep
hopes, and maliciously confides to David, that he aspires to marry
Agnes. Ultimately with the aid of Micawber, who has been employed by
Heep as a secretary, his fraudulent behaviour is revealed. At the end
of the book, David encounters him in prison, convicted of attempting
to defraud the Bank of England.
After
completing school, David apprentices to be a proctor. During this
time, due to Heep's fraudulent activities, his aunt's fortune has
diminished. David toils to make a living. He works mornings and
evenings for his former teacher Doctor Strong as a secretary, and
also starts to learn shorthand, with the help of his old
school-friend Traddles, upon completion reporting parliamentary
debate for a newspaper. With considerable moral support from Agnes
and his own great diligence and hard work, David ultimately finds
fame and fortune as an author, writing fiction.
David's
romantic but self-serving school friend, Steerforth, also
re-acquaints himself with David, but then goes on to seduce and
dishonour Emily, offering to marry her off to his manservant Littimer
before deserting her in Europe. Her uncle Mr Peggotty manages to find
her with the help of Martha, who had grown up in their part of
England, and then settled in London. Ham, who had been engaged to
marry Emily before the tragedy, dies in a fierce storm off the coast
in attempting to succour a ship. Steerforth was aboard the ship and
also died. Mr Peggotty takes Emily to a new life in Australia,
accompanied by Mrs Gummidge and the Micawbers, where all eventually
find security and happiness.
David,
meanwhile, has fallen completely in love with Dora Spenlow, and then
marries her. Their marriage proves troublesome for David in the sense
of everyday practical affairs, but he never stops loving her. Dora
dies early in their marriage after a miscarriage. After Dora's death,
Agnes encourages David to return to normal life and his profession of
writing. While living in Switzerland to dispel his grief over so many
losses, David realises that he loves Agnes. Upon returning to
England, after a failed attempt to conceal his feelings, David finds
that Agnes loves him too. They quickly marry and in this marriage, he
finds true happiness. David and Agnes then have at least five
children, including a daughter named after his great-aunt, Betsey
Trotwood.
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My
Thoughts:
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I don't know how to write this review without resorting to manly
beating of my chest and loud hollering of execrations against my
enemies in jubilation of their downfall.
Dickens' strength is in his characters. This book showcases some of
his best characters in my opinion. From the titular character of
David Copperfield to the child wife Dora to the competent Agnes to
the never quite his fault Mr Micawber to the sniveling Uria Heep to
the selfishly evil Steersforth. Dickens makes every single one of
them a real person that you can think is real.
I also appreciated that Copperfield wasn't a golden boy. He had a
hard life and had some pretty bad things happen to him. But it made
the happy ending all the sweeter. I NEED the majority of my books to
have happy endings of one sort or another. Or at least the chance
for a happy ending. I think that is what I like so much about
Dickens' writing. He knows that people need a happy ending in their
stories and he's not afraid to give it to them.
Dickens also isn't afraid to face the very nature of human nature. He
realizes some people are just downright evil and he writes his
characters that way. He doesn't make excuses for people like Uriah
Heep or Steersforth, he simply portrays them as they are. While evil
can be abstract in ideas and philosophies, it can also be personified
in a character.
And that turns out to be all I have to say. I've been staring at the
screen for almost 30 minutes and nothing else comes to mind. While I
enjoyed Dickens earlier in life, I have never enjoyed him more than
now. This only excites me about reading him again in another 10-15
years!
★★★★★
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