David Copperfield is the fifth of Charles Dickens’ novels that I’ve recommended as Worth Reading. And the last. Not that his others aren’t worth reading, but you have to stop somewhere. It’s something of an arbitrary choice, and Copperfield stands for all the rest of his books. If you enjoy any one of them, go ahead and read the rest. Odds are you’ll enjoy them, too. There are Nicholas Nickleby, Martin Chuzzlewit, Barnaby Rudge, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and others, so dig in.
David Copperfield contains everything you expect from Dickens: A plucky orphan struggling against adversity, cruel boarding school masters, poor but happy families, and lots of colorful characters. First published serially in 1849-50, Dickens drew upon his own life for David Copperfield more so than in his other books. He said in the preface to the 1867 edition, “Of all my books, I like this the best,” and he characterized young Copperfield as his “favorite child.”
In chapter 1, appropriately titled, “I am born,” Copperfield questions “whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life.” Hero might be too strong a word. As in many of Dickens’ works, the main character is not the most interesting. He’s there to carry everything else along, and there are plenty of other characters to keep us interested. The book contains two of Dickens’ most entertaining creations.
At one end of the spectrum there is Wilkins Micawber, the dramatically hapless head of a constantly growing family in constant crisis. This is the character seemingly written with the great W.C. Fields in mind, a full 30 years before Fields was born. At the other end of the spectrum is Uriah Heep (not to be confused with the band), the obsequiously ’umble clerk who makes your skin crawl. You want to wash your own hands any time someone in the book shakes hands with him.
It’s not easy being an orphan
Young David is unwisely born six months after his father’s death, so he has one strike against him from the start. Then his mother marries a man named Murdstone whose shrewish sister moves in with the family. Strike two. Then his mother dies. Strike three.
David is thrown into the world, relying on the kindness of strangers, family friends and suspicious relatives to survive and advance in life. Along the way he receives a piece of fiscal advance from the improvident Mr. Micawber that is as pertinent today as it was more than 160 years ago: “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
Young Copperfield takes the advice to heart and despite the less-than-perfect education afforded by a bleak boarding school where he is bundled off for storage, he works hard to make a success of himself and become a benefactor to those who have befriended him along the way.
Stories within stories
The list of those who befriend and oppose him on the way is long and diverse. There are his old nurse, Pegotty, and her family; his eccentric aunt Betsey and her more eccentric friend, Mr. Dick; his old schoolmates and old school master, and many more. All play roles in David’s life and in each other’s.
David Copperfield contains the usual amount of Dickens’ pathos and sweetness, but it is leavened with a generous amount of humor and salted with enough hardship and villainy to make it enjoyable. Copperfield himself is likeable and self-aware enough to be a pleasant companion through a long and entertaining story. Like the rest of Dickens, and like most nineteenth-century literature, this is not a page-turner. But if you enjoy reading for the long haul, David Copperfield is a rewarding book. Many of the evils of Victorian England that Dickens campaigned against in this and other books are long gone, but the essential themes of love, respect and tolerance remain relevant.
If David Copperfield isn’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of other books by Dickens you can try. Christmas is right around the corner, so why not pick up the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol? There are few better ways to spend Christmas Eve. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding it at your local library or bookstore.
Merry Christmas, and God bless us, every one.