David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The novel "David Cooperfield" is written by author Charles Dickens. This story deals with the life of David Copperfield from childhood to maturity. David is born in England in about 1820. David's father had died six months before he was born, and seven years later, his mother marries Mr. Edward Murdstone. David is given good reason to dislike his stepfather and has similar feelings for Mr. Murdstone's sister Jane, who moves into the house soon afterwards. Mr. Murdstone thrashes David for falling behind with his studies. Following one of these thrashings, David bites him and is sent away to a boarding school, Salem House, with a ruthless headmaster, Mr. Creakle. Here he befriends with James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles, both of whom he meets again later on.

David returns home for the holidays to find out that his mother has had a baby boy. Soon after David goes back to Salem House, his mother and her baby die and David has to return home immediately. Mr. Murdstone sends him to work in a factory in London, of which Murdstone is a joint owner. His landlord, Mr Wilkins Micawber, is sent to a debtor's prison (the King's Bench Prison) after going bankrupt, and is there for several months before being released and moving to Plymouth. David now has nobody left to care for him in London, and decides to run away.

 He walks all the way from London to Dover, to find his only relative, his aunt Miss Betsey. Miss Betsey Trotwood agrees to bring him up, despite Mr Murdstone visiting in a bid to regain custody of David. David's aunt renames him 'Trotwood Copperfield'.

The story follows David as he grows to adulthood, and is enlivened by the many well-known characters who enter, leave and re-enter his life. These include Peggotty, his faithful former housekeeper for his mother. Their orphaned niece Little Emily who lives with them and charms the young David. David's romantic but self-serving schoolfriend, Steerforth, seduces and dishonors Little Emily, triggering the novel's greatest tragedy and his landlord's daughter Agnes Wickfield, becomes his confidante. The two most familiar characters are David's sometime mentor, the constantly debt-ridden Mr Wilkins Micawber, and the devious and fraudulent clerk, Uriah Heep, whose misdeeds are eventually discovered by Copperfield. Likewise, Dickens's own father, is briefly imprisoned for insolvency.

As this novel has happy ending,everybody finally finds security and happiness in their new lives in Australia. David first marries the beautiful but naive Dora Spenlow, but she dies after failing to recover from a miscarriage early in their marriage. David then does some soul-searching and eventually marries and finds true happiness with the sensible Agnes, who had secretly always loved him. They have several children, including a daughter named in honor of Betsey Trotwood.