David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The author: Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was uniquely successful as a writer during his lifetime, enjoying huge followings from readers and audiences in England and America. When, early in life, sudden misfortune sent his family into extreme poverty, the young Charles was sent to work in a factory. Never forgetting this childhood misery, Dickens wrote often in later life about the plights of the working poor. As a young man he became a law clerk and stenographer, moving into journalism in the 1830s. Dickens's early journalistic sketches formed the basis for his first literary works. With the 1836 serialized publication of The Pickwick Papers, his unparalleled success as an author began. Dickens went on to write such famous novels as David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Barnaby Rudge, Hard Times, and Bleak House, with all of his works remaining in print to this day.


The plot: David Copperfield's father dies 3 months before his birth. His mother, very young, pretty, and inexperienced, raises the boy with the help of her loyal maid, Clara Peggoty. Things go well, young Davy is growing up in a happy, loving home – until his mother marries again. Mr. Murdstone, Davy's stepfather, believes that “firmness” is the only way of dealing with boys. He ends up sending Davy away to a boarding school run by a cruel schoolmaster Mr. Creakle. 

When Davy's mother dies, Mr. Murdstone decides that even this kind of education is too good for his stepson and promptly gets rid of him by sending him to London, to work at a blacking factory. Davy is only 10 when that happens. After many trials, he decides to run away and search for his aunt, Betsy Trotwood, who eventually adopts him. 

The second part of this novel shows the grown-up David Copperfield, he has completed his education and is apprenticed as a clerk to work in a law firm. He meets his boss's daughter Dora and falls in love. His feelings are returned, but Dora's father is furious when he finds out about the engagement. Meanwhile, David's aunt goes bankrupt, the family loses most of their possessions, and David has to work even harder in order to provide for himself and his loved ones