Book 1 of a 2 book edition. Throughout his long writing life, Dickens sought to tell his own story, over and over. It is a story of a young man who, born into confusion, eventually makes order of his own life—usually despite, rather than because of, his family heritage. Perhaps the greatest of Dickens' orphans, David Copperfield is a happy child, living with his kind and gentle mother and nurse Peggotty, until his mother remarries. Unfortunately for David, his stepfather is the hard, cruel Mr. Murdstone, who brings his dark, life-crushing eminence into David's home, along with his equally cold and unyielding sister, Miss Murdstone. David's mother is powerless to stop their cruelties toward her young son—and after one of literature's most-satisfying bites, David is sent away. After an idyllic visit with Peggotty's family at their upside-down boat house beside the sea, where David befriends dear little Em'ly, one of Dickens' most beloved characters, David is sent away to school. At school, he meets the formative friends of his life—the ambiguous and handsome Steerforth, and the unlikely future hero, Tommy Traddles. After his frail mother's death, David once again returns home, where he makes the acquaintance of another of Dickens' great characters—the improvident Mr. Micawber, he of many children—loosely based on Dickens' own financially-incompetent father. After experiencing the chaos of the Micawber house, David then finds his outspoken aunt, Betsy Trotwood, and through her, meets Agnes Wickfield—the young woman who eventually becomes his "bright star, ever pointing upward." At this point, returning to school, David encounters the oily, hand-wringing, cringing Uriah Heep—and no one's life will be the same again.
Author
Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity. Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms. Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens' creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters. On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down. (from Wikipedia)
