I felt it to be such a daunting task to read this book! I'm not one to give up on a book once I begin reading, but I certainly came close with this one. It was by no means a poorly written story; actually, it was some of the best writing I have read in quite a while. I was sad for David Copperfield as he experienced so much loss in his life. I enjoyed the ending, which seemed a happy one, comparatively speaking.

This strong autobiographical novel by Dickens is plainly and straightforwardly spoken not more and not less than an absolute masterwork!!
To attempt an appropriate review at such a literary work as this one, I needed to be kind of an apt scholar..
Although I'm a simple layman, I have in my heart an unquenchable burning love and passion for books!!
David Copperfield was for me a buddy reading with my good friend Tracey..
So, thanks so much Tracey for letting me share with you my thoughts and comments and being so patient with me, also for being together with me in this adventure..
Well, let gets started..

David Copperfield is Dickens at his very best!!
Brimming with dramatic and funny characters, wicked villains, and insidious foes so full of vitality and life, that they feel totally like real persons..
The story itself is very complex and has many unexpected turns!!
A drama, a love story, a coming of age tale, a thriller, and a family saga!!

David Copperfields mother, a young widow get married to the inhuman and cruel Mr. Murdstone..
After the death of his mother,David must face an environment full of hostility and also must go trough dire and painful straits until he finds shelter with his aunt..

We have here unforgettable characters like Uriah Heep, the Micawbers, Agnes Wickfield, Steerforth and many many others!!!
Dickens endeavors and is successful in breathing life to every single one of them!!
I was hook from the first page on!!
Not only the characters, but also the story itself is full of drama and magic..
Let me put it in this way, Dickens with his words has achieve to create not a world, but much more a universe of feelings and emotions which will relentlessly increase the pressure on your literary throat!!!

And let me point out that although my paperback had more than 900 pages, it never was a dull or insipid meal for me..
I could speak for hours about Dickens and his David Copperfield..
But I want you to read it for yourself, so you can taste and savor the unique magic in Dickens world!!!

Happy reading to all my goodreads friends
Dean;)

Readers have been saying that my review of David Copperfield is hard to find, because the edition I have is in two volumes. One helpful friend suggested that I link it to this edition, so here it is:

LINK HERE for Jean's review.

Thanks, Thomas :)

What a fantastic book once again from Mr Dickens. I am amazed at how he can build such realistic characters and create such interesting situations. The storm towards the end was stunningly realistic and breathtaking. I truly loved all the characters and found the villain Uriah Heep to be one of Dicken's most enigmatic and sinister. The intrigues and the situations are so well described, you feel like you are there and the Victorian atmosphere just evaporates as you dive into the story.

This is the closest that Dickens gets to autobiography as David's journey in this book is from an inauspicious beginning towards being a recognized and internationally famous writer. It is also, besides Great Expectations, the only other novel in the first person (from David's perspective.)

The plot is very lively and keeps the reader on his/her toes from beginning to end. I felt that the passage when David walks to Dover was very well-done, I loved the descriptions of the boat house, the storm, and just so many fantastic characters. There is a certain naïveté to David that might put some readers off, but that is also his charm, I think, and I felt that he was somewhat more self-aware than, say, Emily in Bleak House.

I listened to this one while running on Audible narrated by Richard Armitrage and his voicing was truly excellent!

Bravo, Dickens!

I have to say that, copying Thackaray for the millionth time, probably. What a difference to read the original, compared to the watered-down versions I was familiar with from my childhood. It took me quite a lot of time to get into the rich flow of words, the beautiful allusions, and the dry humour, but then I was hooked. My family will always remember the Christmas vacation when I was in a rage against Uriah Heep, not able to contain my anger, sharing my frustration loudly!

But it wasn't only annoyance with the blatant hypocrisy, vulgarity and opportunism, of course. I fell in love with the minor characters, as I usually do when reading Dickens. And just following their paths, walking through 19th century London, is a delight!

Update:

My eldest son finished it as well now, and interestingly he was more annoyed with David's naivety than with Uriah's hypocrisy and criminal activities.

By now fully acquainted with the Copperfield universe, he read a comment in The Economist, and burst out laughing at the notoriously self-promoting, self-indulgent, deceptive politician of our days, who claimed to be "very humble indeed - people wouldn't believe really how humble I am!"

"Is 'e as 'umble as Uriah?" my son asked, laughing tears. Well, Uriah ended up playing his tricks in prison... The 'umble scoundrel cited in The Economist later moved into the Bleak House, eh ... sorry, 'umble mistake, Black House it is. Wrong again? Well, in a world turned upside down, it is a pure pleasure to read Dickens and to know that his characters get the fate they deserve, and that poetical justice will come, after a long nail-biting adventure, originally delivered in the newspapers just like global day-to-day politics!

So, Uriah! I would appreciate if you could just 'umbly stay a fictional character!

Money can't buy you love (but it can keep you out of debtor's prison)

David Copperfield is a fictional biography of the life of David Copperfield starting with his birth. David has a very unhappy childhood, subject to much torment. How will this shape and mold David? On whom can he rely? How will Mr. Copperfield turn out?

What is the best part of going on vacation? Certainly not the one week of the vacation but the year in advance thinking about vacation. When the day is drizzling and the sun hasn't made an appearance for several weeks, when my heart is downcast and downtrodden, I think about the rays of sunlight filtering through the air, the warmth upon my skin, and my burden is a little bit lightened. David Copperfield was truly put through a challenging childhood. However, instead of focusing on all of the horrible experiences, he relays the kindnesses and happier periods of his life. It really speaks to how a small kindness can go a long way.

This book had me laughing and crying. The character development was really first rate. Although there are many characters, Dickens writes them in such a manner that they are memorable enough to be remembered and recalled throughout the book. David Copperfield was such a moving piece of literature, and it stirs my soul. It had some very serious themes without being preachy.

Overall, I am already looking forward to reading this book again! Excellent read!

Tips:
1) Just FYI, this book is LONG.
2) I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend the audiobook version of this. If you are a Premium Audible member, it is FREE!!!!! Who doesn't like FREE stuff?! The narrator did all of the voices and accents which really brought the book to life. Also, with a book this long, it really helped me make sure that I was progressing at a steady pace and charting my progress.
3) This book was one of the 100 Books to Read Before You Die According to the BBC (I will be reading all 100, currently at 61):
https://www.listchallenges.com/bbcs-t...

2025 Reading Schedule
JantA Town Like Alice
FebtBirdsong
MartCaptain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
AprtWar and Peace
MaytThe Woman in White
JuntAtonement
JultThe Shadow of the Wind
AugtJude the Obscure
SeptUlysses
OcttVanity Fair
NovtA Fine Balance
DectGerminal

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Nisam, priznajem, planirala da čitam celog Davida (sic!) Koperfilda u ovoj turi, samo da još jednom pročitam početak i da se podsetim nekih omiljenih delova (detinjstvo! TETKA!). Onda se to proširilo i na delove koje sam zapamtila kao problematične (čitaj sve u najdaljoj vezi sa seksom ahahaha) da vidim da li se nešto promenilo (...onako) a onda sam u nekom trenutku uzela da čitam i sve što je preostalo i da kao bonus poredim original s prevodom koji sam čitala kao mala i koji su dobri ljudi piratizovali bez popravki tj. bez "popravki" kakvim naše stare prevode danas neodgovorno podvrgavaju. (Prevod Mihajla i Jugoslava Đorđevića je i dalje tako lep i tako dobar i tako... predobar prosto, ima npr. trenutak kad "active figure" koju David izdaleka opaža na brodu u oluji oni prevode sa "prilika onog preduzimljivog vrednog čoveka", i ma koliko da znam da bi današnji prevodioci anatemisali takvo rešenje, stoput mi je primerenije kontekstu od khm "aktivne figure" kako bi garant prevelo pola danas AKTIVNIH prevodilaca.)

Ne mnogo iznenađujući zaključak: ovo je stvarno Dikens u naponu snage i svi oni pozniji realistični mlohavci što su se zgražavali nad njegovim konstruisanim zapletima i karikiranim likovima mogu samo da mu pljunu pod prozor. Ceo početak s onim najranijim sećanjima iz detinjstva, neverovatno čulno upečatljivim, sa snažnim i samo naizgled nelogičnim asocijativnim vezama između raznih slika i pojmova, gotovo opipljiva evokacija određenog trenutka u vremenu i prostoru... tek su ruski realisti (ok: Tolstoj) ponovo dostigli tu snagu i istančanost potrebne da se prikaže svet iz ugla deteta. I duga sekvenca o brodolomu može se čitati kao pravi mali priručnik o tome kako se gradi atmosfera, osećaj neodređene teskobe, kako se lagano gomilaju nagoveštaji i pre same scene oluje i brodoloma i kako se dostiže kulminacija a potom i naknadno katarzično razrešenje. (Da. Mnogo je patetično. Ali RADI.)

Što se konstruisanog zapleta tiče: pa jeste. Mnogo ima momenata kad se baš slučajno potrefe dve osobe jedna na drugu kad ustreba. Još je više scena koje David sasvim slučajno i nehotice vidi i čuje kroz prozorče ili iza vrata samo zato što bismo inače mi čitaoci ostali uskraćeni za neko sočno (i patetično! patetika zauvek!) razjašnjenje. Ali ako se posmatra kao muzička kompozicija - kao velika struktura sa mnogo manjih motiva i tokova koji se ukrštaju i preklapaju, nestaju i opet se javljaju da bi se sve završilo finalom u kome takoreći još jednom čujemo svaku muzičku frazu i svaki instrument - ovo je 5+ po tome kako pisac drži sve konce u rukama i ne ispusti nijedan.

O likovima kod Dikensa rekao je već ko je šta mogao i hteo :) ali moram da se izjasnim: tetka Betsi je car, kralj, i reli vozač zauvek, ultimativni dokaz da je Dikens mogao da piše odlične ženske likove samo jelte da ne budu... mlade, lepe i pune vrlina... Nikakva količina pristrasnosti mi (avaj) neće pomoći da Agnes ikad vidim kao išta više osim kartonske siluete na kojoj piše IDEALNA DEVOJKA. U poređenju s njom čak je i gospođa Strong (koja je u suštini takođe mlada, lepa i pozitivna, ergo bezbojna do bola) osoba sa naznačenim duhovnim životom i teškom borbom koju vodi. Gospođa Strong takođe ima retko jezivu sudbinu za koju Dikens valjda očekuje da je dočekamo sa smeškom odobravanja... e pa iskreno, bolje su prošle obe upropašćeneTM devojke u ovom romanu, a bogami je i Dora svoj kratki život provela daleko veselije. Mnogo je grozno kad vidite šta sve ljudi mogu da podrazumevaju kad kažu "dobar brak". I e da. Sasvim sam zaboravila da se u romanu pojavljuje patuljasta žena i da je prikazana s neočekivanim razumevanjem i toplinom, kao živ, složen i protivrečan čovek.

Sve u svemu, pet plus od prvog dečjeg čitanja do danas, svaki put iz drugačijih razloga - takve su stvarno samo najbolje knjige.

PS predivno širok i raznovrstan spektar negativaca, nemam ovde mesta ni da okrznem taj aspekat ali pogledajte ih samo :srećno zamahuje rukom prema nizu Merdston, Krikl, Litimer, Hip, Stirford:

Almost hate to leave these characters.

"I never thought when I used to read books what work it is was to write them."
"Its work enough to read them, sometimes," I returned.

How perfect these lines seemed when they appeared in the last few pages of this tome of a classic. Yes, it did seem like work at times but mostly the delights in the writing carried me though. It wasn't the story so much as the telling of it. This was my second try to get beyond halfway and with the print and the audio read by the exceptional narrator Simon Vance, I did not find it as difficult as I remembered.

I won't go into the plot, it did remind me of Great Expectations and is purported to be based largely on the author's life. It begins with David's birth and follows his many hardships. follies and successes into middle age. Along with David there are a most interested group of side characters both evil and funny who lighten up the pages (I was surprised to see that W.C. Fields actually played the part of Micawber in the 1935 film adaptation).

Even with 882 pages I do feel it was an enjoyable read. It gave me a taste for some more Dickens, so Bleak House maybe next but first for next years long classic I plan to read The Count of Monte Cristo whose pages count is even greater. Wish me luck for that one.

So, Dickens, the most beloved English author since Shakespeare. How good is he? Is he as good as Tolstoy? No, he's not as good as Tolstoy. As good as Dumas? No. Hugo? Let's call it a tie. What about other Brits? Well, he's not even close to George Eliot. He's about as good as Thomas Hardy.

He has a better feel for what it's like to be poor than most of those authors, and that's a big plus for him; even if you don't like poor people, Dickens' willingness to dive into the alleys makes a nice change from all those Victorian parlors. His characters are often caricatures, but they're effective, memorable ones. His understanding of human nature comes with sharp sarcasm and a bottomless supply of sympathy. He loves underdogs. He doesn't love Jews. He appears to have some weird ideas about women - see Betsey Trotwood and of course Miss Havisham.

His main characters often disappear - never more than in David Copperfield, where many characters can't be bothered to remember the protagonist's name if they remember him at all. DC is variously called Trot, Daisy, and - by his own awful wife - Doadie. His supporting characters are better, and his villains are best. Uriah Heep basically walks away with David Copperfield.

His plots rely heavily on the kind of coincidence peculiar to 19th century writers, and they're usually telegraphed a mile away, which doesn't keep them from being enormously entertaining and satisfying. He has a tendency to go on about legal bullshit to a fairly eye-glazing degree.

His prose is generally unpretentious and effective, with brief spurts of incredible skill and beauty. He likes describing weather, as in the virtuoso opening of Bleak House. That and the dizzying opening of Tale of Two Cities ("It was the best of times..." and then it goes on for, like, ever) are audacious stuff.

He's badly sentimental. You've probably heard the quote from Oscar Wilde, "One would have to have a heart of stone to read the death of [character from different book] without dissolving into tears of laughter." It's best to just skim passages involving death or love; they're unsalvageably corny.

He's a very good author. David Copperfield is a very good book, but it reads as practice for Great Expectations, which deals with a similar plot and themes better and much more concisely. Great Expectations is the best Dickens I've read. This is good, and Dickens is quite good. I find myself not needing to think about him all that often.

Appendix: Dickens' influences
If you're interested: at one point David Copperfield reels off a list of his favorite literary characters. Here are the books he's referring to:
- Adventures of Roderick Random (1748), Tobias Smollett
- Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1751), Tobias Smollett
- Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771), Tobias Smollett (Chuck liked Smollett, huh? This one is supposed to be his best.)
- Tom Jones, Henry Fielding (1749)
- Vicar of Wakefield (1762), Oliver Goldsmith
- Gil Blas, Alain-René Lesage (1715 - 1735), "the last masterpiece of the picaresque genre"
- Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe (1719)

"Stuff and noncense" keeps saying Miss Trotwood. And that's exactly what I feel about this book. Boring and incredibly long story of an orphan (typical for Dickens). A lot of teaching on morality. Villains get punished and everyone get what they deserve

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”

Warning: Following is somewhat of a “non-review”. I don’t have the stamina to write properly about this one at this time. There are plenty of other splendid, erudite assessments on this site if you are so inclined (and which I highly recommend!)

As a teen, I came across a box of old books in my parent’s basement. This was very intriguing to me, as neither of my parents could be called avid readers by any means. To my delight, the box contained several very old volumes of Dickens novels. It turns out these were passed on from my grandfather, who as far as I know, never picked up a book for pleasure in his life! It was a mystery of sorts as to where these books originated in the first place. I thought, perhaps after all I had an ancestor that treasured books as I do! In any case, David Copperfield was among those volumes. It was too irresistible to pass up the chance to read a book that maybe a great-grandfather or great-grandmother had at one time held lovingly in his or her hands. I liked to imagine such a thing while reading it at that time. I always felt a little alone in my reading endeavors and this gave me a wee bit of comfort.

As to the book itself, the most vivid memories are of my experience finding it rather than actually reading it. I recalled it was long, much longer than anything I would ever have picked up at that age. I also remember there being a profusion of characters! Whether I liked it or not, I have no idea… thus, when the opportunity to read it once again presented itself to me, I jumped on it. I left the old volume behind when I moved out of my childhood home, so this time I decided to listen to the audio version. Not just any audio would do, however – the Richard Armitage narration! There is no voice, other than those of my children, that gives me greater pleasure to listen to than his divine tongue. Have you ever listened to him? No? Please do. His performances are excellent, and he does a range of voices that would please, thrill and amuse any listener!

“Mature affection, homage, devotion, does not easily express itself. Its voice is low. It is modest and retiring, it lies in ambush, waits and waits. Such is the mature fruit. Sometimes a life glides away, and finds it still ripening in the shade.”

To be clear, not only did I admire Richard Armitage’s dramatic accomplishments, I rather adored David Copperfield as well. This book is semi-autobiographical in nature, so one can see a bit of Dickens in young Copperfield. The reader follows little David from birth through adulthood and you can’t help but champion him throughout. You’ll pity the unfortunate lad and want to protect him from the likes of the Murdstones. Your heart will break with his misfortunes as he goes forth alone in the world at far too young an age. You’ll cross your fingers and your hopes will rise as he tramps to the doorstep of Betsey Trotwood. You’ll delight in his young loves, always so tender and reminiscent of those of your own, perhaps. He makes mistakes, sometimes misplaces loyalties, and continues to grow as a result. Certainly, Uriah Heep will make you recoil as he writhes and contorts and places his clammy hand in David’s palm. Like any Dicken’s novel, a spectacular array of characters will spring from the pages. Dickens doesn’t let you forget a single person. His vivid depictions will keep them in the forefront of your mind to be quickly retrieved when you meet them once again in later pages. I can’t think of any other writer who does this quite so masterfully. Some may argue they are just caricatures, and that is perhaps true for some. But there are others, like David, who are not merely cut-outs, but like living beings who develop and mature. There are depths to be explored within them.

What I loved most about David Copperfield is the message that families can be made up of a myriad of individuals. These are not necessarily blood relatives but persons that come into your life and take on the roles of mother, father, sister, brother and so forth. They do so with an abundance of protection and devotion that will make your spirit soar and once again restore your faith in the decency of some human beings.

“...I hope that simple love and truth will be strong in the end. I hope that real love and truth are stronger in the end than any evil or misfortune in the world.”

Las obras de Charles Dickens ocupan una posición privilegiada en el Olimpo de la literatura universal. Sus historias y personajes reflejan con una maestría inigualable los movimientos sociales y las luchas de poder que se desarrollaban durante la época victoriana. David Copperfield no es ninguna excepción. La novela, pese a su componente trágico, desprende valores intrínsecos en el ser humano que acompañarán a cada nuevo título del autor: amistad, camaradería, esfuerzo y lealtad. No sorprende comprobar que sus capítulos se leían en voz alta entre soldados durante la I Guerra Mundial, muchos años después de la muerte de Dickens. Esta anécdota supone un magnífico ejemplo de la obra: la búsqueda de luz y felicidad en un entorno plagado de tinieblas.

David Copperfield se encuadra dentro de las novelas de formación, en las que el protagonista relata sus vivencias y el aprendizaje que ha obtenido en cada uno de sus pasos hacia la edad adulta. La novela se inicia precisamente con su nacimiento, y sigue las peripecias de un muchacho que busca su lugar en la sociedad y su identidad en un entorno cambiante, pese a las dificultades que se encuentra por el camino.

Este camino está plagado de personajes inolvidables, y que son precisamente los que coronan a la novela como una de las grandes obras del autor. Cada uno de ellos está dotado de una profundidad que trasciende las barreras de la literatura. Están perfilados con tal perfección que incluso Dickens se permite ciertas licencias caricaturescas que inundan de humor varias escenas de la novela. Tal y como ocurre en la realidad, estos personajes aparecen y desaparecen de la vida de David Copperfield, ofreciéndole una lección que se sumará a su desarrollo individual y formarán al adulto en el que se convertirá. Si algo se les puede achacar, es la previsibilidad con la que realizan sus acciones. Dickens tiene claro cuáles de sus creaciones pertenecen a la categoría del bien, y cuáles se enmarcan dentro del mal. No lo oculta y, pese a que todos cometen errores y se equivocan, esta división de fuerzas tan antagónicas está claramente diferenciada.

Utilizando un tono nostálgico desde sus primeras páginas, el autor narra todo este proceso con una habilidad cercana a la prestidigitación. Te arrastra al Londres del siglo XIX, te sumerge en la pobreza que se respiraba en la ciudad y te acerca a las dificultades que tenía su población para subsistir entre tanta desigualdad. Se siente una obra magnánima, que abarca conceptos vitales y existenciales que tanto cuesta desarrollar con éxito en la literatura. Pese a ello, no puedo catalogarla como una obra redonda: siento que a Dickens le supone un gran esfuerzo cerrar los arcos de sus personajes, por lo que acaba alargando la narración en exceso. Es la primera vez que noto los inconvenientes de una novela publicada por entregas, en la que ya se ha llegado al clímax de la historia, pero aun así se siguen dando vueltas a los mismos temas de forma innecesaria.

David Copperfield y Charles Dickens se entremezclan y fusionan en una narración parcialmente autobiográfica. Tras acabar su lectura, las historias, aventuras, experiencias y observaciones del pequeño Copperfield quedarán retenidas para siempre en la memoria del lector. Tanto si se disfruta en compañía o en soledad, esta novela ofrecerá el mismo calor y cobijo que una chimenea en pleno invierno. Y probablemente te hará reencontrarte con la bondad del ser humano.