David Copperfield

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His father dies before David is born, but he is a very happy young boy - until his mother marries cruel Mr Murdstone. This is only the first of many changes, both good and bad, that David faces as he grows up and finally becomes a famous writer. This well-loved story invites us to share David´s happiness and sorrow, and get to know all the fascinating people, both good and bad, he meets along the way.

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In a book that is part fairy tale and part thinly veiled autobiography, Dickens transmutes his life experience into a brilliant series of comic and sentimental adventures in the spirit of the great eighteenth-century novelists he so much admired. Few readers can fail to be touched by David's fate, and fewer still to be delighted by his story. The cruel Murdstone, the feckless Micawber, the unctuous and sinister Uriah Heep, and David Copperfield himself, into whose portrait Dickens puts so much of his own early life, form a central part of our literary legacy. This edition reprints the original Everyman preface by G. K. Chesterton and includes thirty-nine illustrations by Phiz.

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In one of his most energetic and enjoyable novels, Charles Dickens tells the life story of David Copperfield, from his birth in Suffolk, through the various struggles of his childhood, to his successful career as a novelist. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of David Copperfield features original illustrations by H. K. Browne "Phiz", with an afterword by Sam Gilpin. Dickens’ early scenes are particularly masterful, depicting the world as seen from the perspective of a fatherless small boy, whose idyllic life with his mother is ruined when she marries again, this time to a domineering and cruel man. David Copperfield is partly modelled on Dickens’ own experiences, and one of the great joys of the book lies in its outlandish cast of characters, which includes the glamorous Steerforth, the cheerful, verbose Mr Micawber, the villainous Uriah Heep, and David’s eccentric aunt, Betsey Trotwood. Dickens described it as his "favourite child" among his novels and it is easy to see why.