David Copperfield

Book Description

Reprinting the 1850 original, this work also includes excerpts from Dickens' letters tracing the genesis of the novel. The criticism section includes 12 essays by authors including John Forster, Matthew Arnold, J.Hillis Miller, Gwendolyn B.Needham and Garrett Stewart.

Intimately rooted in the author's own biography and written as a first-person narrative, this work charts a young man's progress through a difficult childhood in Victorian England to ultimate success as a novelist, finding true love along the way.

Amazon.com

Beginning in 1854 up through to his death in 1870, Charles Dickens abridged and adapted many of his more popular works and performed them as staged readings. This version, each page illustrated with lovely watercolor paintings, is a beautiful example of one of these adaptations.

Because it is quite seriously abridged, the story concentrates primarily on the extended family of Mr. Peggotty: his orphaned nephew, Ham; his adopted niece, Little Emily; and Mrs. Gummidge, self-described as "a lone lorn creetur and everythink went contrairy with her." When Little Emily runs away with Copperfield's former schoolmate, leaving Mr. Peggotty completely brokenhearted, the whole family is thrown into turmoil. But Dickens weaves some comic relief throughout the story with the introduction of Mr. and Mrs. Micawber, and David's love for his pretty, silly "child-wife," Dora. Dark nights, mysterious locations, and the final destructive storm provide classic Dickensian drama. Although this is not David Copperfield in its entirety, it is a great introduction to the world and the language of Charles Dickens.

The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

(in full The Personal History of David Copperfield) Novel by Charles Dickens, published serially from 1849 to 1850 and in book form in 1850. The book is perhaps most notable for its childhood chapters, "an enchanting vein which he had never quite found before and which he was never to find again," according to the critic Edmund Wilson. Largely for this reason and for its autobiographical interest, it has always been among his most popular novels and was Dickens' own "favorite child." It incorporates material from the autobiography he had recently begun but soon abandoned and is written in the first person, a new technique for him. Although Copperfield differs from his creator in many ways, Dickens uses many early personal experiences that had meant much to him--his own period of work in a factory while his father was jailed, his schooling and reading, his passion for Maria Beadnell (a woman much like Dora Spenlow), and (more cursorily) his emergence from parliamentary reporting into successful novel writing.

From Booklist

Gr. 8^-12. This is not the great classic novel but a few little-known episodes that Dickens excerpted from the book for his dramatic public readings. His performances were for adults who knew the book, and it's only readers familiar with the novel who will understand what's going on. This large-size volume is for teens interested in book illustration and dramatic performance. Marks (who illustrated Over the Hills and Far Away: A Book of Nursery Rhymes [1993]) captures the romance and the comedy of the excerpts with watercolor paintings on every page. But generally this is theatrical Dickens for nostalgic adults.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Hazel Rochman

From AudioFile

Like a visit with old friends, this production of David Copperfield assumes that the listener is familiar with the Dickens milieu. The emphasis is on Dickens's colorful characters, who appear one after another in performances consistently deft and sure. Even the grotesque are played with a restraint that retains their humanity. Music and sound effects are used well, but sparingly, never distracting from the voices. J.N.

From the Publisher

Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards.

Book Dimension:

length: (cm)21.5 　　　 　　　　　 　 width:(cm)12.7