David Copperfield

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, 891 pages

Presented as the life story of David Copperfield, this sizeable tome follows our protagonist through his life's many experiences (not sure I'd go so far as to call them adventures), and his interactions with many vibrant characters. These characters — especially his great aunt Betsy Trotwood, his wife Dora, the amoral Steerforth, and the villainous Uriah Heep — are excellently drawn, and make the book worth reading. David and the much-adored angelic Agnes are some of the blandest characters I've ever read, and the plot doesn't really move too much. But when Dickens' secondary characters appear, that's when the reading is good. I don't know that I would have read this if it wasn't our Big Book for this summer, but I'm glad I did read it.

David Copperfield

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens  891 pp.

I completed this year's Summer Big Book and have to say I liked it better than some past year's selections. In general I like Dickens' writing and, while this isn't my favorite of his novels (A Tale of Two Cities holds that place), it's better than some. There are places that the story bogs down and, in general, it is not a particularly remarkable plot. It is the characters that bring this book to life. Dickens' detailed descriptions of the characters, their mannerisms, and ways of speaking bring the story to life. The evil Uriah Heep, the generous but unlucky Micawber, the immature and flighty Dora, the cruel and controlling Murdstones, the unscrupulous Steerforth, and others are described so well there is no doubt of their personal attributes and attitudes.   The story of a young boy growing into manhood through good times and bad is a timeless one and much of what David Copperfield lives through could easily be translated into modern times. I have to admit that the part of the book I disliked the most involved David's marriage to Dora. She drove me crazy. I listened to the audio book version which was excellently narrated by Richard Armitage.

Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London / Andrea Warren / 156 p.

I loved this book, full of photos and illustrations, that demonstrates Dickens' particular dedication to improving the lives of London's children through his writing. Warren makes the case that change occurred in the government, financial, and social realms in large part because of the Dickens' portraits of children such as Nell, Oliver, and many others.