“Dickens wrote of David Copperfield: ‘Of all my books I like this the best’. Millions of readers in almost every language on earth have subsequently come to share the author’s own enthusiasm for this greatly loved classic, possibly because of its autobiographical form.”
“Following the life of David through many sufferings and great adversity, the reader will also find many light-hearted moments in the company of a host of English fiction’s greatest stars including Mr Micawber, Traddles, Uriah Heep, Creakle, Betsy Trotwood, and the Peggoty family.”
This was one of five books that we read in 2012 as part of the Dickens bi-centenary celebrations.
Belper Book Chat 
annettebbc
/ August 31, 2012Another fan of Martin Jarvis’ storytelling! I’ve used a mixture of audio and book, but the voices Jarvis created made the reading much easier. I’m currently on the final chapter, iPod plugged into my ear as I type! David Copperfield is actually enjoyable – not sure why I am so surprised…..
Looking forward to the meeting now.
hilaryfbbc
/ August 19, 2012Well a gold medal to Martin Jarvis for bringing this to life for me – this must, so far, be the ‘easiest’ Dickens yet for me, partly due to the characters being introduced gradually; the autobiographical telling of the story seems more realistic than the third person narratives of some of his other books – and of course we know that CD himself experienced some of the degradations encountered by young David here, which is quite a big ‘hook’ to draw a reader in to the plot.
I agree with Maddi’s comments about the awfulness of the domestic abuse revealed here in the early chapters – the sad fact being it is all too recognisable today – oh that we could read this and marvel at an outdated historical portrayal of women and children……
A quarter of the way through and it feels like plain sailing so far.
madeleinebbc
/ March 7, 2012Disc 13 – I obviously managed to pull through the worst, and both David and his mother are free of the awful Mr Merdstone. I’m now really enjoying the story, and can now see why Charles Dickens called it his ‘favourite child.’
madeleinebbc
/ February 13, 2012Just 2 discs in, and this story is leaving me feeling totally miserable. It’s the inevitability of the harsh treatment that David gets at the hands of his stepfather, and the awfulness of the situation his mother gets herself trapped in. Why did these women bother with marriage? What has she gained from it? How many women and children are living in these abusive relationships behind the closed doors of Britain today? I don’t think I can really go on with it…