Other editions of book The Personal History of David Copperfield

David Copperfield is the unforgettable story of David’s pursuit of his dream of being a successful writer. Following David from his impoverished childhood to his encounters with the memorable Uriah Heep, the beautiful Dora, and the comic Micawber, David Copperfield is believed to be the most autobiographical of Charles Dickens’s works.HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

Of all Dickens's novels, David Copperfield most fervently embraces the comic delights, the tender warmth, the tragic horrors of childhood. It is our classic tale of growing up, an enchanting story of a gently orphan discovering life and love in an indifferent adult world. Persecuted by his wrathful stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; deceived by his boyhood idol, the callous, charming Steerforth; driven into mortal combat with the sniveling clerk Uriah Heep; and hurled, pell-mell, into a blizzard of infatuation with the adorably dim-witted Dora, he survives the worst—and the best—with inimitable style, his bafflement tuming to self-awareness and his unbridles young heart growing ever more disciplined and true.Of this richly autobiographical novel Dickens himself wrote, "like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favorite child. And his name is David Copperfield."

Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title--offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords.Growing up is never easy--especially if your name happens to be David Copperfield. Orphaned as an infant, David must suffer the privation and cruelties of his evil stepfather, Mr. Murdstone--who packs David away to a workhouse at the age of ten! a trusting but vulnerable boy and practically alone in the world, David finds himself time after time at the mercy of a rogue's gallery of characters: the dashing but deceitful Steerforth, the detestable clerk Uriah Heep, and, last but not least, the beautiful but ditzy Dora. With friends like these it's a miracle that David grows up at all!

&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&RDavid Copperfield&&L/I&&R, by &&LSTRONG&&RCharles Dickens&&L/B&&R, is part of the &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&Rseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R: &&LDIV&&RNew introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/I&&Rpulls together a constellation of influences―biographical, historical, and literary―to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LSTRONG&&R&&L/B&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LSTRONG&&RDickens&&L/B&&R’s favorite of all his novels, &&LI&&RDavid Copperfield&&L/I&&R is the story of a boy who loses both parents at an early age, and who escapes the torture of working for his pitiless stepfather to make something of himself and, with any luck, find true happiness.&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&R&&LI&&RDavid Copperfield&&L/I&&R features an unforgettable gallery of characters, including David’s cruel stepfather Mr. Murdstone, the unctuous Uriah Heep, the amiable Mr. Micawber, whom Dickens based on his father, and Dora Spenglow, whom David marries and calls his “child-wife.” Written in the first person, &&LI&&RDavid Copperfield&&L/I&&R is perhaps the most autobiographical of Dickens’s fictions. This new edition includes commentaries, discussion questions, and Phiz’s original illustrations.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LB&&RFeatures the original illustrations by Phiz.&&L/B&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LSTRONG&&R&&L/B&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&R&&LSTRONG&&RRadhika Jones&&L/B&&R &&L/B&&Ris the managing editor of &&LI&&RGrand Street&&L/I&&R magazine, a freelance writer, and a Ph.D. candidate in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. Jones also wrote the introduction and notes for the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Charles Dickens’s &&LI&&RGreat Expectations.&&L/I&&R&&L/P&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R

The intensely personal David Copperfield (widely regarded to be the most autobiographical of the author's novels) is one of Dickens's greatest works. We follow David Copperfield from birth and miserable childhood to inevitable tragedies, until he finally finds happiness later in life. Full of some of the most memorable characters in literary history, Nicholas Boulton's depiction of the oily Uriah Heep and David Copperfield's sinister stepfather Murdstone, do the novel full justice.

Countless generations have enjoyed David Copperfield. But only this generation can boast the vocal alchemist that has brought Charles Dickens' greatest novel to full-scale audio-life: Richard Armitage. This combination of story and storyteller is without match.Between his work on the 2014 Audible Audiobook of the Year, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, and his performance of Classic Love Poems, narrator Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Hannibal) has quickly become a listener favorite.This epic, exuberant novel is one of the greatest coming-of-age stories in literature, chronicling David Copperfield's extraordinary journey through life as he encounters villains, saviors, eccentrics, and grotesques—including the wicked Mr. Murdstone, stouthearted Peggotty, formidable Betsey Trotwood, impecunious Micawber, and the odious Uriah Heep. Dickens' great novel (based, in part, on his own boyhood and which he described as a "favorite child") is a work filled with life.With this pinnacle performance, Armitage has allowed a kind of transmutation of Dickens' work to take place. What has been relegated to paper for over 150 years (or watered down into film scripts) has become so much more. What lives now is the language itself.

[Read by Ralph Cosham] David Copperfield is the timeless tale of a thoughtful orphan discovering how to live and love in a cutthroat, indifferent adult world. It firmly embraces all the eternal freshness, the comic delights, the tender warmth, and the ghastly horrors of childhood. Of all Charles Dickens' novels, this is perhaps the most revealing, both of Dickens himself and of the society of his time. Certainly Copperfield's experiences--his early rejection, child labor in a warehouse, experience as a journalist, and final success as a novelist--are strikingly similar to Dickens' own. It is little wonder that Dickens said of it, ''Of all my books I like this the best . . . Like many fond parents I have in my heart of hearts a favorite child. And his name is David Copperfield.''

The story traces the life of David Copperfield from childhood to maturity. David is born in England in 1820. David's father had died six months before he was born, and seven years later, his mother marries Mr. Edward Murdstone, who is born in 1775. David is given good reason to dislike his stepfather and has similar feelings for Mr Murdstone's sister Jane (born in 1780), who moves into the house soon afterwards. Mr Murdstone thrashes David for falling behind with his studies. Following one of these thrashings, David bites him and is sent away to a boarding school, Salem House, with a ruthless headmaster, Mr. Creakle. Here he befriends James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles, both of whom he meets again later on. David returns home for the holidays to find out that his mother has had a baby boy. Soon after David goes back to Salem House, his mother and her baby die and David has to return home immediately. Mr Murdstone sends him to work in a factory in London, of which Murdstone is a joint owner. The grim reality of hand-to-mouth factory existence echoes Dickens' own travails in a blacking factory. Copperfield's landlord, Mr Wilkins Micawber, is sent to a debtor's prison (the King's Bench Prison) after going bankrupt and remains there for several months before being released and moving to Plymouth. No one remains to care for David in London, so he decides to run away.

Considered to be the most autobiographical of all Dickens's novels Cast out by his cruel stepfather to the brutal boarding school Salem House, young David Copperfield quickly learns that he must fight for a better life. After discovering his mother has died while he has been away, David is left all alone in the world and is sent to work in his stepfather's factory. He decides his only option is to run away, so he escapes London and finds his way to Dover. Once there he hopes to be taken in by his only known relative, his eccentric Aunt Betsy Trotwood—but will he ever be able to find the love and security he needs?