Story summary
Краткое содержание: Дэвид Копперфилд
- Чтение: 8 мин.
- 11 parts
- Аудио скоро
A fatherless boy, a harsh stepfather and a bottle warehouse stand between David Copperfield and a life of his own.
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Дэвид Копперфилд — кратко о книге
Краткое содержание: 8 min на чтение
- Время чтения
- Около 23 h 20 min18 h 30 min fast, 27 h 45 min slow
- Длительность
- Слов: 333 400
- Уровень в библиотеке
- Сложное чтение long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- Первая публикация
- 1849by Чарльз Диккенс
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Сколько времени нужно на чтение классики · Обновлено
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Дэвид Копперфилд in short
David Copperfield follows one life from its first hour to middle age. A boy born after his father's death finds love in a small house, loses it to a stepfather who calls cruelty firmness, and is sent to a school and then a warehouse. He escapes by walking to the aunt who once left in a rage, and she gives him a name, a school and a home.
What Дэвид Копперфилд is about
Can a boy who loses his father before birth, and his mother in childhood, ever become the hero of his own life? David Copperfield opens with that question. It begins on a windy March afternoon, when a stern stranger presses her nose flat against a parlor window and frightens a young widow.
Charles Dickens published this novel in monthly parts, finishing it in 1850. He drew on his own memories of a lonely childhood and of working young. David tells the tale himself, and you meet a huge cast, from the gentle nurse Peggotty to the hopeful Mr. Micawber and the grasping Uriah Heep. You watch a sensitive boy learn to trust his own judgment.
Для кого. Readers who enjoy big, warm, funny novels filled with unforgettable characters will love this book. It also suits those who like to follow a whole life through a narrator looking back.
The story in 11 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A child is born to a house of women
David is born at Blunderstone in Suffolk, six months after his father has died. His mother Clara is a young, timid widow. She lives in a house called the Rookery, where the old nests still hang in the elms but the birds left long ago.
On the afternoon of the birth, a tall, rigid lady walks up the garden and peers through the window. She is Miss Betsey Trotwood, the great-aunt who was offended by his father's marriage. She announces that the baby will be a girl named Betsey Trotwood Copperfield. When the terrified doctor, Mr. Chillip, tells her the child is a boy, she swings her bonnet at his head and leaves the family.
Dickens makes comedy of cruelty and fear, yet behind the jokes lies a real wound.
David learns early that people can be both ridiculous and wounded at the same time.
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Peggotty's boat house shows true warmth
David's early childhood is a small, happy world of three people: his pretty mother, the plump and devoted Peggotty, and himself.
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The Murdstones turn home into a prison
The black-whiskered gentleman is Mr. Murdstone.
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Salem House teaches him about charm and cruelty
David is sent to Salem House near London, a school run by Mr. Creakle.
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Grief and a bottle warehouse end his childhood
David goes home for the holidays and finds a baby brother in the house and a mother worn thin by her new husband.
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Mr. Micawber gives him a friend and a plan
David lodges with the Micawber family, and Mr. Micawber becomes the great comic figure of the book.
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Aunt Betsey takes him in at last
David reaches Dover dusty, ragged and starving, and finds his aunt's cottage by the sea.
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Canterbury brings Agnes and Uriah Heep
Betsey sends David to school in Canterbury, and he lodges with Mr. Wickfield, her lawyer, a gentle man who has taken to drinking after his wife's death.
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Steerforth and Dora tempt his undisciplined heart
A young man now, David trains to become a lawyer in London.
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A story about hearts, money and who is worthy
Under the comedy lies a steady question.
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Memory, comedy and the voice of an author
David tells his own story as an older man, and the whole book is shaped by remembering.
Read all 11 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- David Copperfield The narrator, a sensitive boy who loses both parents and must find his own way to manhood and a calling as a writer.
- Clara Peggotty David's devoted nurse, rough, plump and loving, who wants only to keep him safe and loved.
- Betsey Trotwood David's formidable great-aunt, who guards her principles, her donkey-free lawn and the people she has chosen to protect.
- James Steerforth A handsome, brilliant older schoolfellow who wins David's worship and wants his own way in everything.
- Uriah Heep A clerk with clammy hands and a fawning smile who works patiently to gain power over the family that employs him.
- Wilkins Micawber A grand talker, always in debt and always sure that something will turn up, who befriends the boy in London.
- Agnes Wickfield A calm, wise girl who keeps her father's house in Canterbury and becomes David's closest adviser.
- Little Em'ly Mr. Peggotty's lively niece, who dreams of becoming a lady so that she can reward the uncle who raised her.
How it ends (spoiler)
Dora dies after a long illness, and Steerforth drowns in a great storm off Yarmouth, with Ham lost in a brave attempt to save him. Em'ly sails to Australia with her uncle and finds a quiet life. Uriah Heep is exposed and jailed. After years abroad, David comes home, realizes he loves Agnes, and marries her. Years later Mr. Peggotty visits them.
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Вопросы о книге Дэвид Копперфилд
What is David Copperfield about?
It tells the life of David, from his birth after his father's death through a cruel stepfather, a lonely job in London and rescue by his aunt, to his adult search for love, work and a place in the world.
Is David Copperfield based on a true story?
It is a novel, but Dickens drew on his own childhood, including a spell of work as a boy in a London warehouse. He wrote it in 1849 and 1850 and later called it his favorite among his books.
Who is Uriah Heep?
Uriah Heep is the red-haired clerk in Mr. Wickfield's office who keeps saying he is humble. He flatters everyone and quietly plots to take control of the firm and of the family he serves.
Who is Mr. Micawber and why is he so famous?
Mr. Micawber is David's London landlord, a grand talker who is always in debt and always certain that something will turn up. Readers love his long speeches and his wife's promise never to desert him.
Is David Copperfield worth reading?
Yes, because it mixes comedy and feeling in short, vivid chapters. It offers memorable characters, a clear story told by David himself, and many scenes you can picture, from a boat house on the sand to a candlelit school dormitory.
Как сослаться на это издание
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/david-copperfield.
Dickens, C. (2026). David Copperfield. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/david-copperfield (Original work published 1849)
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/david-copperfield.
@book{dickens2026david,
author = {Dickens, Charles},
title = {David Copperfield},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/david-copperfield},
note = {First published 1849}
}
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