David Copperfield.

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Hugely admired by Tolstoy, David Copperfield is the novel that draws most closely from Charles Dickens's own life. Its eponymous hero, orphaned as a boy, grows up to discover love and happiness, heartbreak and sorrow amid a cast of eccentrics, innocents, and villains. Praising Dickens's power of invention, Somerset Maugham wrote: "There were never such people as the Micawbers, Peggotty and Barkis, Traddles, Betsey Trotwood and Mr. Dick, Uriah Heep and his mother. They are fantastic inventions of Dickens's exultant imagination...you can never quite forget them."

What will you learn from this book

Bildungsroman: "David Copperfield" is a Bildungsroman, a genre that focuses on the moral and psychological growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood. David's journey from innocence to maturity is central to the novel.
Autobiographical Elements: The novel contains many autobiographical elements from Dickens' own life, as David's experiences mirror those of the author, including his childhood struggles and eventual success as a writer.
Character Development: Dickens masterfully crafts a diverse cast of characters, each with their own quirks and flaws. Through their interactions with David, readers witness their growth and transformation over time.
Social Commentary: The novel serves as a critique of social injustices and inequalities prevalent in Victorian society. Dickens highlights issues such as poverty, child labor, and the class divide, drawing attention to the plight of the marginalized.
Redemption and Forgiveness: David Copperfield learns the importance of forgiveness and redemption through his encounters with characters like Mr. Micawber and Uriah Heep, who experience their own moments of moral reckoning.
Love and Relationships: The novel explores various forms of love and relationships, from familial bonds to romantic entanglements. David's quest for love and belonging drives much of the narrative.
Loss and Grief: David experiences profound loss throughout the novel, including the deaths of loved ones such as his mother and wife, Dora. These experiences shape his character and contribute to his growth.
Social Mobility: David's journey from poverty to prosperity reflects the Victorian belief in the possibility of social mobility through hard work and perseverance, though it also acknowledges the role of luck and privilege.
Humor and Satire: Dickens infuses the narrative with humor and satire, using wit and irony to lampoon societal conventions and expose hypocrisy, particularly in characters like the pompous Mr. Murdstone and the eccentric Aunt Betsey Trotwood.
Hope and Resilience: Despite the challenges he faces, David Copperfield remains resilient and hopeful, demonstrating the power of optimism and perseverance in overcoming adversity.

Language	English
ISBN-10	0140439447
ISBN-13	9780140439441
No of pages	828
Font Size	Medium
Book Publisher	Rupa & Co
Published Date	24 Jun 2004

About Author

Author : Charles Dickens

20 Books

Charles John Huffam Dickens 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's 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.