BOOK REVIEW: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Posted June 27, 2015 by @amanhimself in Books, classics, Reviews / 51 Comments

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Genres: Fiction, Classics
four-stars

David Copperfield  by Charles Dickens is considered to be the most closest work resembling Dickens life. It is autobiographical. is the story of a young man’s adventures on his journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist.

There is a funny anecdote related to this book. At the time when I was reading David Copperfield, a friend of mine tells me that the first book Sigmund Freud gave his fiancee, Martha Bernays, on their engagement in 1882. At the moment, I wanted to question his anecdote but I thought it otherwise. I said to myself, ‘Why not read this 900 pages book and find the answer to that ‘why’ myself?’ And indeed I did.

The first half of the novel begins with the childhood of David Copperfield. The childhood starts of with his father’s death only when he is three years old. His mother, very young, pretty, and inexperienced, raises the boy with the help of her loyal maid, Clara Peggoty. Things go well, young David is growing up in a happy, loving home until his mother marries again. David’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.

When David’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. David is only ten when that happens. After many trials, he decides to run away and search for his aunt who eventually adopts him.

The second half of David Copperfield displays Dickens at his best. A reader will certainly adore and admire Dickens writing manner. The most solid foundation of the book, I consider are the characters. Dickens typically seems to employ static characters to represent the good and bad elements of life and nature. Every character is given his own distinctive and instantly recognizable voice. Some of them are timeless including the Copperfield himself.

As the story picks up and becomes more complicated, with David Copperfield establishing himself in business, falling in love, breaking friendships, and traveling abroad, the language weave an interesting web around him and his journey, one which connects the reader to David and encourages him to come along, to see what happens, to experience what David was experiencing. If more, Dickens draws revealingly on his own experiences to create this story with equal measure of tragedy, and comedy. The last hundred pages become a drag as Dickens closes on various characters lives along with the protagonist and narrator, David Copperfield. Though the conclusion is satisfying enough. There is no doubt David Copperfield is one of the best work of Charles Dickens.

4 out of 5

four-stars

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51 responses to “BOOK REVIEW: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens”

  1. pamkirst2014

    I saw Dickens’ great grandson Gerald perform a one-man show of A Christmas Carol this December, and it made me curious about Dickens the man. His biography is fascinating, too! Nice post–thank you.

    Reply
  3. Run Wright

    I’ve been wanting to read some Dickens but the length of his novels is a huge deterrent right now. I think the next time I have a long trip, I’ll take one of his books along – I own a (still unread) copy of A Tale of Two Cities.

    Reply
  9. Rick Ellrod

    True, it’s hard to find a *short* Dickens work (unless you include “A Christmas Carol” :)). *A Tale of Two Cities* isn’t bad, but I swear by *David,* *Little Dorrit*, *Our Mutual Friend.*

    Reply
  11. Lyrical Sixties

    Urrrrgh! David Copperfield! I was forced to read, memorise and write about that book for my GCE exams at school 50 years ago, and I HATED it. Possibly because, although I love to read, I want to choose what books I read and not have them forced on me, and possibly because at 16 years old I wanted something a bit more racy in pace, and Copperfield just goes on and on forever. So it’s interesting to know that you enjoyed it. Perhaps one day I will be mature enough to tackle Dickens!

    Reply
  19. Shreya Madhusudan

    Like you said, this book is one of dicken’s best works! It was actually the first book that introduced me to the vast world of his novels, and it is still my favourite.

    Reply
  21. denisesmusings

    Great post and timely. Great site, thanks for coming by. My play which included Dickens was performed just before last Christmas. The main focus was Ada Lovelace, but in writing the play I learned more and more about Dickens – and was astounded. Also, I’ve decided to work this play into a novel and will start on 1st September. Also, another story brewing is around Freud and his times. So your post couldn’t have been more interesting/exciting even. And there are many more. I plan to read it in full later today. And, at the Margate Bookie, I had only just complained about the responses I have been getting to my blog and had more or less stopped. So thanks a million on many levels and I look forward to reading your work in full. How lucky we are….

    Reply
  22. cgdtaylor

    When I was a child in the UK, every Sunday afternoon we had an adaption of a Dicken’s novel on TV. I found these shows very frightening as the characters and their predicaments were too real.

    Re-reading some of his work in early adulthood, I now saw it as being a caricature of his times.

    Today with advancing years, I believe he is writing both; he was writing life.

    Anyone agree?

    Reply

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