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David Copperfield

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One of Dickens's best-loved and most personal novels, David Copperfield is the embodiment of Dickens's own boyhood experience recalling his employment as a child in a London warehouse.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

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649 people want to read

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Malvina G. Vogel

71 books35 followers

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5 stars
634 (41%)
4 stars
475 (30%)
3 stars
330 (21%)
2 stars
80 (5%)
1 star
23 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
Profile Image for Brian .
429 reviews5 followers
February 23, 2015
I ordered David Copperfield on the internet, but received this kid's edition. I read Bleak House instead, on my Kindle, but found it very difficult. A Goodreads friend suggested reading some notes on David Copperfield or seeing the movie before I read it. I read this kid's book, following his advice. I plan to read the full version some day. I received the full version for Christmas.

This story is intense, and moves you deeply with David's constant struggles. You feel like you know the characters as they come and go. It reminded me of The Goldfinch, by Donna Tart. It's the same premise, about a boy's trials growing up. Considering The Goldfinch is one of my favorites, I will have to make some time to work through this great work.
Profile Image for Ana-Maria Lungu.
33 reviews10 followers
Read
July 14, 2017
This book was very interesting, was very sad too, but I enjoyed it a lot. I really like the characters and their relationships with David Copperfield. I recommend it to everybody, it is a touching book with a strong life lesson.
Profile Image for Wasif.
246 reviews
August 4, 2017
David father died. His mom was alone to take care of David. Then she married a man name Murdstone. David does not like him. One time he took David to room and beat him so hard that David think he is going to die.He send him to work and live on his one.Now David is alone in by himself.
Profile Image for Christy Foley.
186 reviews4 followers
January 7, 2024
I enjoyed listening to the audio book of this. I believe this is the version I heard based on the photo used on Libby. I didn't realize it was a shorter version when I first started it. I decided to listen to this, since I listened to Demon Copperhead earlier this year.
Profile Image for Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library).
4,899 reviews89 followers
April 23, 2012
I'm not a huge fan of classic literature other than the Bible, but I have heard that Charles Dickens' writing is quite wordy and hard to understand. In fact, my senior high school English teacher refused to do a unit on Mr. Dickens; she claimed that he was "the devil" and "paid by the word." Still, his ability to spin a good story is still felt today, with many celluloid adaptations of A Tale of Two Cities and especially A Christmas Carol in recent years. David Copperfield, called "the tragic waif" by Jill in Home Improvement, is given a kid-friendly treatment in the edition I read, and it made for good, if quick, reading. For those who are thinking about giving this to an early reader, there are some parts that may require an adult's explanation to be understood fully by a child. For those who are past childhood but still "young at heart" like me, this also makes for good reading; just don't expect archaic language or several days' worth of reading, unless you're a very slow reader.
Profile Image for Kendall.
51 reviews18 followers
September 9, 2008
dickens does what he does best in this book: creates a multitude of characters that are so rich that they become almost tangible. hundreds of threads are interwoven and build a plot that is only predictable in the sense that what happens feels utterly natural and like it could not have possibly happened any other way. virginia woolf was correct in saying that david copperfield is "the most perfect of all the dickens novels."
Profile Image for MJ.
89 reviews
February 20, 2011
This book is totally awesome......
I learned many lessons from this book one is to work hard in your life to pursue your dreams.....
-mAjHyX ♥_♥.....
Profile Image for Steph.
71 reviews33 followers
January 9, 2021
"No podría hacer por dinero, lo que he prometido hacer por amor" -David Copperfield-
Leí mi primer clásico del año y quiero decir que fue una buena lectura, me adentre a la historia sabiendo casi nada, más que vamos conociendo a David Copperfield desde su niñez hasta su adultez y todo lo que tiene que pasar en su vida.
Al principio me pareció lento pero es porque David esta muy niño y sufre demasiado y sentía que la historia se estaba estancando pero pasando la mitad del libro, me devore las páginas, no podía parar de leer.
Siento que crecí y aprendí con esta historia, me dejo una marca y creo que todos deberían de leerlo, para los que están más pequeños les recomienda la edición ilustrada que hace que te atrape aun más la historia.
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SPOILERS!!!!!!!
No me gusto la amistad de David con Steerford porque el se creía mucho y lo que le hizo a Emilita me enfado muchísimo, le arruino la vida y la separo de su familia.
El romance de David y Dora me pareció de lo más lindo pero a la vez algo apresurado y eso hizo que le quitara puntos pero cuando Dora muere casi lloro porque se veía que le amaba.
Y el segundo romance que es el de Inés no me gusto para nada porque en realidad no los vemos interactuar tanto como para decir que se atraen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Brent Ecenbarger.
723 reviews10 followers
March 20, 2023
Loved this book as a teenager and had a fun time revisiting it with my family of first time readers. This was the first non-adventure or sci-fi book we've read from the line and it was a good choice to introduce the kids to classic literature without the fantastic elements.

There are a ton of characters in this book, but by the end my kids were very familiar with bad guys like Mr. Murdstone and Uriah Heap and invested in David's love life, with potential paramours Dora, Emily, and Agnes. Even in this abbreviated version, David's early years brought a tear to my eye. The boys did a great job reading it and learned some new concepts and terms. The biggest stumbling block was the frequent use of the word "coach" for a "carriage" which often we had to remind them what the author was talking about.
8 reviews1 follower
Read
July 21, 2023
The book was too good for an illustrated series. I was very skeptical to pick up this as I might read the original version sometime in the future. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was a short read. Good to read to children. It had all the emotions. Though I felt the story was moving so fast and I could not catch up with the names of the characters, it was fairly manageable. This makes me wanna read the original book.
Profile Image for Lourdes Alcala-Guerrero.
4 reviews
May 2, 2025
I like that David ended up with Agnes without having to cheat on Dora. I really liked how on one page he was ready to fight for Agnes and on the next page he was ready to marry Dora. It felt silly, but it made him human. It reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. I really liked all the characters and the illustrations were great. A sparknotes version of the book. Can't wait to read the real deal.
Profile Image for Pradhyumna Bhat.
34 reviews
June 18, 2020
This was my first book where in I had to write the article on reading and understanding. This book was so awesome that I got to learn so many things at the small age. I never thought that life of David, a fictional character could impact the young readers.
257 reviews2 followers
November 30, 2022
I actually listened to the 36 hour version having listened to it 10 years ago. I also enjoyed watching the movie. I Love,love,love this book even though it is tough reading about Dickens’s tough life.
Profile Image for Greg Hovanesian.
133 reviews3 followers
November 13, 2023
David Copperfield was Dickens' favorite book that he wrote, and I can see why. This story, widely seen as being mostly auto-biographical, was simply perfect. It's simply a story of life, with both its ups and downs.

Profile Image for The.
9 reviews
March 19, 2024
I didn't remember a whole lot from this story when I was a kid but I loved reading it and getting to know it again. Though Dickens had his own personal reasons, I can see why it was his favorite of his works. This was incredibly enjoyable though I felt for David in the beginning. I loved getting to watch him grow once his aunt took him in. I now look forward to reading the whole story by Dickens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
82 reviews
Read
June 17, 2024
hm interesting i think i read the abridged version (it was a random book in my friends house i read while lying by the pool in the sun) theres sth interestint abt the matter-of-fact way everything is told that makes everything seem so poignant
Profile Image for BookDragon.
40 reviews
July 22, 2020
The book that marked my descent into the reading world. 8 year old me reread this book sooooo many times
10 reviews
July 14, 2022
Great book! Haven’t read the OG, but really enjoyed this.
Profile Image for Amy.
389 reviews1 follower
November 8, 2022
Read this mini book as a child!
6 reviews
March 29, 2023
Long, meandering story of David Copperfield, an orphan turn success story. Lots of great characters throughout that turn up (satisfyingly) again and again.
Profile Image for Smitha.
91 reviews
July 26, 2023
A very simple version of the classic, well suited for the young readers..
Profile Image for Luciana Wieden.
16 reviews
December 30, 2023
Remember girls, a man can promise eternal love just to remarry a year after your death
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Brandi Phillips.
164 reviews
April 25, 2024
Good, condensed version for kids but the words are still a bit clunky. A little hard to follow for kids with all the characters. But a good story.
Profile Image for Tony Murchison.
60 reviews4 followers
May 1, 2024
I read this to find similarities with Demon Cooperhead. They’re there but not always as explicit as I had imagined. It’s a decent book.
60 reviews
December 7, 2024
Un grande classico che non avevo mai letto e che mi sono ritrovata a divorarlo.
Profile Image for David Erkale.
377 reviews1 follower
June 14, 2025
Copperfield leads a pretty unfortunate childhood and faces many great ordeals throughout his life. This book contains a classic Dickens story in large print, with illustrations on each page.
Profile Image for Carlie Joseph.
53 reviews
June 25, 2025
I accidentally bought the young reader’s version but this was so great! Looking forward to reading the full book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews

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