The Old Curiosity Club discussion
David Copperfield
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Reading Schedule, and Preliminary Remarks
Can't wait! I've missed all of you, and I've been particularly looking forward to DC, as it's been decades since I've read it, and really don't remember very much. Since I've read all the others in the last five years, it will be nice to "end" (in a way) with Dickens' favorite. We'll see if it takes the crown away from Bleak House as my favorite. Either way, we're in for a treat. :-)
Oh man! I’m new here and I don’t need another big read, but this is slow and I think I need to join! I listened to Richard Armitage’s reading of this a few years ago, but have not actually read it beyond that. I guess it’s time!
I certainly am looking forward to it! I love this reading in weekly installments. It must be about a year ago now that I joined, I think? Anyway, it will be the fourth book I will be reading with this group, not counting the short stories. It started with a 'hey, this could be fun!' and now I've not not had a Dickens novel in my reading-list for a very long time.
David Copperfield has been a couple of years ago for me too. I'm looking forward to revisting the novel :-)
David Copperfield has been a couple of years ago for me too. I'm looking forward to revisting the novel :-)
I just looked back to see when I did read David Copperfield and found that it was 25 years ago. I knew it was quite awhile but didn't realize it was that long. I am looking forward to this reread.
Ashley - I love Richard Armitage and didn't realize he read audiobooks. I'll check the library and other sources to try and find it. Thanks!
This will be my first book since moving to North Carolina. I look forward to it. I never read it, but I know how Dickens felt about it.
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Ashley, I am sure that I can speak for everyone here when I say that we are looking forward to your observations, ideas and questions in our DC discussions! A warm welcome to you!
Tristram- thank you! I’m excited to be here!Mary Lou- this reading is brilliant! I wish he would do more novels that I actually want to listen to. Everyone loves narrators like Simon Vance, but I’m so picky (I am not an audio learner so it has to be an amazing narrator) that I want DA to read all of Dickens!!
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Tristram, I can't think of a single character you hate it in book, it seems very strange.
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I'd love to reread David Copperfield with you all as I've missed the group terribly and I remember loving my read of DC with you, back however many years ago it was now. I may not succeed in starting on schedule, though, as I'm currently plowing my way through the chunkster The Eighth Life right now and I keep falling behind in that. But, since Tristram sent out the message that DC would be the next read, it's been firmly lodged in the back of my brain since then. So, I'll try my best to join you all and I'd love to catch up with everyone!
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Linda
You have been missed. DC may be a “chunkster” but is is a delightful one.
Join in when you can. You are always one of the family.
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Hmmm, you just have to look at the whole thing from the logical angle - and then you'll see everything my way, and people would agree with you more ;-)
Started yesterday. Hope to finish with you.
Really looking forward to this - it will be my sixth Dickens and it's probably the one I'm anticipating the most.
I'm really looking forward to this as well! Only, I ordered a specific edition of the book from a German bookseller in Munich (the only one who had it -- New Oxford Illustrated Dickens, 1949, dust jacket intact -- at a reasonable price) and I hope the delivery will make it on time! I can't read Dickens in any other form. I'm cursed with "the specific edition syndrome." Are any of you afflicted with this variety of bibliomania?
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Only, I ordered a specific edition of the book from a German bookseller in Munich (the only one who had it -- New Oxford Illustrated Dickens, 1949, dust..."
Hi Ulysse
I am a big fan of the Penguin editions of books. The Dickens Penguins hold up longer, have good critical Commentary and contain chapter notes at the back. A row of orange-spined novels is a wonderful sight.
I love Penguin too, especially when their books still had orange spines!But for Dickens, it's The New Oxford Illustrated Dickens from 1949-1967 all the way.
Ah, Ulysse, I agree. I actually have a newer Oxford Illustrated Dickens edition with the "New" removed. I don't remember when I bought these but the last print date listed in my set is 1989. I ordered the complete set by mail and at the time it was an investment but it is a treasured possession. I love books but at this point in my life I am trying to thin down my collection but this set I don't plan to ever part with. I have three of the novels still to read then I hope to tackle some of the other volumes. Ah, the joy of books.
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The University of California Santa Cruz has a wonderful focus on Dickens called The Dickens Project.
Take a look if you are interested. I think you will be fascinated.
https://dickens.ucsc.edu/programs/vir...
Kim wrote: "I need you to read with us Linda, you can keep track of the schedule so much better than I can."Here's your reading schedule, Kim!
David Copperfield
07/23/20 – 07/29/20 DC, Chp. 01-03
07/30/20 – 08/05/20 DC, Chp. 04-06
08/06/20 – 08/12/20 DC, Chp. 07-09
08/13/20 – 08/19/20 DC, Chp. 10-12
08/20/20 – 08/26/20 DC, Chp. 13-15
08/27/20 – 09/02/20 DC, Chp. 16-18
09/03/20 – 09/09/20 DC, Chp. 19-21
09/10/20 – 09/16/20 DC, Chp. 22-24
09/17/20 – 09/23/20 DC, Chp. 25-27
09/24/20 – 09/30/20 DC, Chp. 28-31
10/01/20 – 10/07/20 DC, Chp. 32-34
10/08/20 – 10/14/20 DC, Chp. 35-37
10/15/20 – 10/21/20 DC, Chp. 38-40
10/22/20 – 10/28/20 DC, Chp. 41-43
19/29/20 – 11/04/20 DC, Chp. 44-46
11/05/20 – 11/11/20 DC, Chp. 47-50
11/12/20 – 11/18/20 DC, Chp. 51-53
11/19/20 – 11/25/20 DC, Chp. 54-57
11/26/20 – 12/02/20 DC, Chp. 58-61
12/03/20 – 12/09/20 DC, Chp. 62-64
Tristram wrote: "Hmmm, you just have to look at the whole thing from the logical angle - and then you'll see everything my way, and people would agree with you more ;-)"Tristram - you would be proud of my son as he and I had the discussion of month/day vs day/month not too long ago and he readily agreed that it made much more sense to have it expressed as day/month. I also agree, but having lived 47 years of the month/day way drilled into me, it's difficult to change the way my brain looks at dates.
Peter wrote: "Join in when you can. You are always one of the family."Thank you, Peter. I've missed you all!
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Tristram - you would be pr..."
Linda,
Please give your son my best wishes! He seems to be a very logically-thinking person.
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The University of California Santa..."
Peter,
I had a look at the website and feel sure that it will provide valuable background information for the subject of our next group read. Thanks for sharing the link!
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But for Dickens, it's The New Oxford Illustrated Dickens from 1949-1967 all the way."
I still have some of the orange-spine Penguins but the majority of my Penguin books now have black spines. I like them for their annoations and their introductions, but lately I have also discovered the Norton Critical Editions, which even have more background information. The only thing is that I find their format slightly awkward.
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DC was Dicken's eigth novel, and it was published in twenty monthly parts (the last one a double number) by Bradbury and Evans from 1849 to 1850. It was the first novel in which Dickens used a first person narrator, and unlike Dombey and Son it was not mapped out so clearly in advance. Only a few plot elements were set by Dickens - which ones I am not going to tell here because I want to avoid spoilers -, but the bulk of the novel, including the profession David should choose in the end, evolved as Dickens was writing. This was more in accordance with his procedure during the writing of his earlier novels, but still DC would not become as picaresque in nature as The Pickwick Papers or Nicholas Nickleby.
Somewhat between 1845 and 1848, Dickens had started writing an autobiography, but when he arrived at the period of his early love for Maria Beadnell, he found the enterprise becoming so painful for him that he aborted the project and destroyed the manuscript. However, he had shown some parts to his friend Forster, and obviously, when he started writing DC, some of his personal memories found their way into the novel.
Dickens found it quite difficult to settle on a title, and one of the seventeen variations that were recorded was actually Charles Copperfield, or The Copperfield Survey of the World as It Rolled.
Apparently, it was Forster who suggesting that Dickens should write a novel in the first person. As usual, the novel would contain several illustrations by Phiz.
I plan on coming back for this read after having joined in for The Mystery of Edwin Drude. I would consider Dickens my favorite classical author, my favorite contemporary being Haruki Murakami. I started to read the introduction in my edition and stopped because of spoilers. But one thing I came across that sounded neat was that when George Orwell began reading it at the age of nine, he found it “so immediately intelligible” that he thought it had been written by a child.
I'm reading the first chapters, and love them already.
"and there I see a stray sheep - I don't mean a sinner, but mutton - half making up his mind to come into the church." The thoughts of a small kid who parts the fauna in 'humans' and 'food' :-P
"and there I see a stray sheep - I don't mean a sinner, but mutton - half making up his mind to come into the church." The thoughts of a small kid who parts the fauna in 'humans' and 'food' :-P
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"and there I see a stray sheep - I don't mean a sinner, but mutton - half making up his mind to come into the church." The thoughts of a small..."
I have finished the first three chapters and will put in my recaps sometime tomorrow. It's the third time I am reading this novel and once again, I notice that reading Dickens is like coming home to me :-)
Hello - I’m a long time Dickens fan, but this is my first time to read along with this group. I’m reading the Norton Critical, but I’m quite fond of the Penguin editions. I find that the newer “black spined” editions have better notes and a more logical format than older Penguins.
Awesome that you're reading along now, Isaac!
And Tristram, take your time on my account ;-) I'm halfway chapter 2 now I guess? My reading is in a kind of slump, and I only seem to be able to read read snippets.
And Tristram, take your time on my account ;-) I'm halfway chapter 2 now I guess? My reading is in a kind of slump, and I only seem to be able to read read snippets.
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Hello Isaac,
Welcome to the group! I hope you'll enjoy discovering Dickens in this circle of Curiosities :-)
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And Tristram, take your time on my account ;-) I'm halfway chapter 2 now I guess? My reading is in a kind of slump, and I only seem to be able to read..."
Jantine,
We have just come back from a short family holiday - lots of hiking to ensure the children would be tired in the evening - but I managed to read the first three chapters when everyone else was asleep. Luckily, for the recaps I can now draw on my earlier summaries, the ones I made in the other group, so I'll be posting them immediately, without any trouble :-)
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Hello Isaac
Welcome. David Copperfield is a wonderful novel and I’m glad you will be joining us.
There will be lots to discuss.
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Hi Stephen. I didn't know who Haruki Murakami was so I looked him up figuring I was just drawing a blank -which often happens- but I'm sticking with my first thought, I never heard of him. It says that Dickens is one of his favorite authors. There must be many people who aren't like me, because it says:
Norwegian Wood propelled the barely known Murakami into the spotlight. He was mobbed at airports and other public places, leading to his departure from Japan in 1986.
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Did it work?
Kim wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I plan on coming back for this read after having joined in for The Mystery of Edwin Drude. I would consider Dickens my favorite classical author, my favorite contemporary being Haru..."
There are, yes. I quite like Murakami's work too. It can be a bit weird, and that's often exactly what I like xD
There are, yes. I quite like Murakami's work too. It can be a bit weird, and that's often exactly what I like xD
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Did it work?"
When my children are not tired in the evening, I can always lull them into sleep by reading some Little Nell scenes from our favourite novel ;-)
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Did it work?"
When my children are not t..."
They must be crying at that one special part that makes the entire world cry. Except you. Poor Little Nell.
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Lord Murdstone's House (the Lord instead of Mr. should have given me a clue)
This house was possibly owned by a man named Lord Murdstone. It sat at the top of a green hill and was large, white and classical in shape. It had a white façade, columns, a pediment and a chimney.
The hall was decorated with ornate plasterwork. It had cabinets made of wood, tortoiseshell and gold, and there were statues made of marble. There was also a huge chimney-piece.
The kitchen had a fire in an iron range, as well as a large pine table. Inside the kitchen there was a trapdoor to the cellar.
The basement was connected to the kitchen by a heavy trapdoor. A set of steps led downwards from the trapdoor to a storage area which contained vegetables, rice and other food. A low archway connected this to the main cellar. This cellar was where wine was stored. There was also a second storeroom which contained furniture. At the end of the basement was a heavy wooden door with large iron hinges and a big lock.
According to Gerard Bonneville,(I don't know who that is) the house was originally owned by a man named Lord Murdstone who used its basement to kill children.
It is from His Dark Materials, a tv-series. Perhaps this is based on Dickens' Mr. Murdstone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dar...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dar...
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dar..."
Thanks! I've never heard of it. It's good to know there wasn't really a Murdstone out there killing children. Beating them is bad enough. :-)
Indeed, I'm glad about it too. And I'd love to read the books the series are based on some time.
Lindsay wrote: " a David Copperfield movie coming out in September..."Yes - it's been out in the UK for months already. People seem to either love it or hate it, so it sounds like it's best to go into it with an open mind, and assume it's not going to faithfully follow the novel. I was really looking forward to seeing it in the theater, but then COVID hit. A few days ago there was an ad saying that it's FINALLY coming to the theater, but I'm not ready for that environment yet. I guess I'll have to wait a few more months and watch from my sofa. :-(
It can't be worse than that adaptation FX did of A Christmas Carol last year, which was just vulgar. I turned it off after the first few minutes when the opening showed someone urinating on Marley's grave. Apparently, it went downhill from there. I should know better than to watch anything with words like "gritty" or "edgy" in the reviews - especially for a holiday movie, for Heaven's sake.
Here's the trailer - it's obviously a whimsical and somewhat surreal take on the original. I think I'll enjoy it whenever I finally get the chance to see it. :-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXh53...
Since we are about to enter and explore the final chapters of Domby and Son, we mods think it high time to have our new novel announced, which is - in the order of Dickens's novels, as they were published - the famous book David Copperfield, which has lots of autobiographical elements in it. People have often pointed out that the protagonist's initials are the writer's in reverse, and I don't think this a coincidence.
We hope that many of you will find the time to engage with us on our weekly discussions on one of Dickens's most famous novels, and in order to be able to do a Christmas read this year, most probably The Holly-Tree Inn, which is a collaborative work in which Dickens was involved, we start our new novel immediately after finishing Dombey and Son.
Here is our reading schedule:
23/07/20 – 29/07/20 DC, Chp. 01-03
30/07/20 – 05/08/20 DC, Chp. 04-06
06/08/20 – 12/08/20 DC, Chp. 07-09
13/08/20 – 19/08/20 DC, Chp. 10-12
20/08/20 – 26/08/20 DC, Chp. 13-15
27/08/20 – 02/09/20 DC, Chp. 16-18
03/09/20 – 09/09/20 DC, Chp. 19-21
10/09/20 – 16/09/20 DC, Chp. 22-24
17/09/20 – 23/09/20 DC, Chp. 25-27
24/09/20 – 30/09/20 DC, Chp. 28-31
01/10/20 – 07/10/20 DC, Chp. 32-34
08/10/20 – 14/10/20 DC, Chp. 35-37
15/10/20 – 21/10/20 DC, Chp. 38-40
22/10/20 – 28/10/20 DC, Chp. 41-43
29/19/20 – 04/11/20 DC, Chp. 44-46
05/11/20 – 11/11/20 DC, Chp. 47-50
12/11/20 – 18/11/20 DC, Chp. 51-53
19/11/20 – 25/11/20 DC, Chp. 54-57
26/11/20 – 02/12/20 DC, Chp. 58-61
03/12/20 – 09/12/20 DC, Chp. 62-64
It would be wonderful to read this book with as many Curiosities as possible!