The Personal History of David Copperfield

by Charles Dickens and Illustrated by Everet t Shin n Charles Dickens

Book Overview

In a preface to this novel, Dickens described David Copperfield as his "favorite child," and the story has remained among the favorites of Dickens' readers, too, with the characters of Betsy Trotwood, Mr. Pegotty, Uriah Heep, and Wilkins Micawber as well as David himself becoming part of the fabric of Western culture. This facsimile reprint is of the Household Edition of the Works of Charles Dickens, published in the 1870s; the edition makes the work...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089577223X
• ISBN13: 9780895772237
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Reader's Digest Association
• Length: 751 Pages
• Weight: 2.52 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Townsend Library version is highly edited

I thought we were getting an unabridged version, and though this one is long, it is highly edited and doesn't read like Dickens at all. The very first chapter just flops and reads like a dry biography instead of Dickens' fascinating, lilting voice. It doesn't mention the caul or anything. Dickens is hard to read but worth the effort. Very disappointed.

Wrong item

A completely different edition than the one ordered and in very poor condition.

Not the cover advertised

This did not come with the cover the picture advertised. Very ugly cover

If u only watched the movies, you've missed out!

There is nothing like reading a Charles Dickens book! And David Copperfield is definitely a classic and a better known(altho I recommend them all!)of his writings. Dickens being the ultimate storyteller. This is a favorite, with such characters as his Aunt, her sidekick Mr. Dick, his 2 chums(Traddles the best), and so many other character developments. It is a happy and sad time, excerpted from the real goings on of life in England at that time and some of the miseries that children faced at that time, including the cruelties exacted by their merciless & greedy schoolmasters. You will cry & laugh thru out this wonderfully written timeless classic.

No wonder Dickens was deemed one of the best English writers, ever!

I had read the Chinese version of "David Copperfield" when I was about 14, and enjoyed it very much, though it didn't leave much trace in my mind after I grew up. I was glad to be able to enjoy it a second time recently. This time I read the English version, that is, the original work of the great writer Charles Dickens. I was immediately subdued by Dickens' mastery of the language. Reading the book is just like having someone very talented in telling stories talking to you. The rhythms in the language of this book are simply beautiful. Very, very beautiful. Although there're a lot of long sentences in this book (the longest one seemed to be the one in the chapter of Copperfield's wedding, about 2-3 pages for a single sentence. Can you imagine that!), it seems very natural to read -- just like having someone very smart, very passionate and very eloquent talking to you. Although it's about 900 pages, although it's a novel published more than 150 years ago, it's not boring at all to read! I was taken by the story at the first page, and continued enjoying it during these several months, and finished the last page tonight with a satisfied smile, as if I had just finished a gorgeous banquet! No wonder Dickens was deemed one of the best English writers ever! He really had a wonderful mastery of the language, and was really good at telling stories!

A Masterpiece

This is Dickens's best and it is on par with other great novels such as Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, Madame Bovary, etc. In short, it is a masterpiece that brings together all of Dickens's writing skills with a great story. As background information, I am in the process of reading most of Dickens 22 novels. I bought the Penguin Popular Classics version of the novel. It is very basic and comes in a simple green cover. It contains no introduction or analysis, just the text plus a very brief historical sketch of Dickens. It seems to be an excellent value for the money and I bought three Dickens novels in the series. I was a bit disappointed in that the book seemed to fall apart as I read it: the binding seemed very weak and cheaply made. After this bad experience, I bought other versions of Dickens's works - Wordsworth Classic versions, the regular Penguin Classic versions, the ones with the photo on the covers, and others. Charles Dickens, who lived from 1812 to 1870, is the best know male English writer of the 19th century. He authored 22 novels plus numerous short pieces. Most of his writing was first written in serialized form, later published as single novels. A young Dickens at the age of 12 had the unenviable job of attaching labels 10 hours a day at the Warren's boot blacking factory. That experience shaped much of his writing career. Still in his teens he became a law clerk, then later in his twenties a journalist. The last job as a reporter led to the serialized writing of his novels. His works were social commentaries with larger than life characters, or colorful caricatures, living in the slums of London. He was a critic of poverty, social injustice, and the slow moving court system. All of Dickens's experiences come together in David Copperfield. The story has many biographical elements in it: a young man forced to take a job in a factory, attendance at a difficult school, working in a law firm, being a reporter, etc. The book was the author's favorite because of all of these biographical elements. The novel is twice as long as Great Expectations and has a wonderful set of characters, a good story, and it is a compelling read. It is clear from reading the novel that Dickens has put a lot of enthusiasm and creativity into writing the novel and into the creation of many memorable characters such as Edward and Jane Murdstone, Wilkins Micawber, Uriah Heep, Tommy Traddles, Mrs Trotwood, etc. Readers will not be disappointed. Having read many of Dickens's novels I still rate David Copperfield as best as a work of literature and for entertainment value.

One of the finest books in English

This book excels marvelously on two fronts - style and story. Dickens has a masterful style that uses to good effect the best elements of English. His prose is simply wonderful. The story is also tremendous. Its wraps up a little too tidy, but that is the Dicken's style. The characters are vividly painted and the failures and triumphs feel as real as can be. It is a masterpiece I recommend to everyone.

Ignore the ignorant

Regarding the ignoramuses who claim David Copperfield is the "wost" book "i" have ever read, consider the source. They are likely venting some teenage angst after having to read something for which they are apparently not ready. For you kids still on the nipple and not ready yet for meat, stick to A Christmas Carol, either the abridged version or an animated one on TV, which is a medium you are likely more than familiar. Also for you teachers who encourage your students to leave reviews: don't dirty the water. Keep the grumbling in your own classroom.

A Novel with Heart

David Copperfield was always a favorite of mine. It is wonderful, how, circling with the years, I can make my own retrospect and read it again from my older perspective. When I was younger, I too, wanted to complain that all of Dickens' heroines were the same, and now I realize how wrong I was. Agnes is good and beautiful and patient of course, but what about the heroine Aunt Betsey? What about Miss Mowcher, who gives David a piece of advice "from three foot nothing ... Don't confuse bodily defect with mental!" she exclaims, and this is advice we coudl still use today! What about Peggotty, who is true and good and occasionally silly? Then there are the women who are not so good: Mrs Heep, Miss Murdstone, Mrs Markleham (the Old Soldier) and Rosa Dartle?Dickens' characters are marvelous, but what I find most wonderful is the love that brings them together. Aunt Betsey takes David in, and is rewarded by the softening of her own heart; Mr. Peggotty seeks and finds his niece; Traddles finally marries "the dearest girl" and long-suffering Mrs Micawber will never desert her husband and something at last turns up Down Under. The characters who are courageous enough to choose love over pride are almost always rewarded at the end -- assuming that they survive, of course! (I'm thinking of Ham.) Perhaps it is just a novel, and those who have courage to love are not always rewarded in real life, but the idea is wonderfully satisfying.