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The Personal History of David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

Narrated by David himself, it follows his journey from infancy to maturity through Victorian England.

"The Personal History of David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens is a novel. Narrated by David himself, it follows his journey from infancy to maturity through Victorian England.

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Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously.

In consideration of the day and hour of my birth, it was declared by the nurse, and by some sage women in the neighbourhood who had taken a lively interest in me several months before there was any possibility of our becoming personally acquainted, first, that I was destined to be unlucky in life; and secondly, that I was privileged to see ghosts and spirits; both these gifts inevitably attaching, as they believed, to all unlucky infants of either gender, born towards the small hours on a Friday night.

I need say nothing here, on the first head, because nothing can show better than my history whether that prediction was verified or falsified by the result. On the second branch of the question, I will only remark, that unless I ran through that part of my inheritance while I was still a baby, I have not come into it yet. But I do not at all complain of having been kept out of this property; and if anybody else should be in the present enjoyment of it, he is heartily welcome to keep it.

Contents

  1. 01Chapter I.
  2. 02See page 3.
  3. 03Chapter II.
  4. 04Our Pew at Church
  5. 05Chapter III.
  6. 06I Am Hospitably Received by Mr. Peggotty
  7. 07Chapter IV.
  8. 08Chapter V.
  9. 09The Friendly Waiter and I
  10. 10My Musical Breakfast
  11. 11Chapter VI.
  12. 12Chapter VII.
  13. 13Steerforth and Mr. Mell
  14. 14Chapter VIII.
  15. 15Changes at Home
  16. 16Chapter IX.
  17. 17Chapter X.
  18. 18Mrs. Gummidge Casts a Damp on Our Departure
  19. 19Chapter XI.
  20. 20My Magnificent Order at the Public-House
  21. 21Chapter XII.
  22. 22Chapter XIII.
  23. 23I Make Myself Known to My Aunt
  24. 24Chapter XIV.
  25. 25The Momentous Interview
  26. 26Chapter XV.
  27. 27Chapter XVI.
  28. 28I Return to the Doctor’s After the Party
  29. 29Chapter XVII.
  30. 30Somebody Turns Up
  31. 31Chapter XVIII.
  32. 32Chapter XIX.
  33. 33My First Fall in Life
  34. 34Chapter XX.
  35. 35Chapter XXI.
  36. 36We Arrive Unexpectedly at Mr. Peggotty’s Fireside
  37. 37Chapter XXII.
  38. 38I Make the Acquaintance of Miss Mowcher
  39. 39Martha
  40. 40Chapter XXIII.
  41. 41Chapter XXIV.
  42. 42Chapter XXV.
  43. 43Uriah Persists in Hovering Near Us, at the Dinner Party
  44. 44Chapter XXVI.
  45. 45I Fall Into Captivity
  46. 46Chapter XXVII.
  47. 47Chapter XXVIII.
  48. 48We Are Disturbed in Our Cookery
  49. 49Chapter XXIX.
  50. 50Chapter XXX.
  51. 51I Find Mr. Barkis “Going Out with the Tide”
  52. 52Chapter XXXI.
  53. 53Chapter XXXII.
  54. 54Mr. Peggotty and Mrs. Steerforth
  55. 55Chapter XXXIII.
  56. 56Chapter XXXIV.
  57. 57My Aunt Astonishes Me
  58. 58Chapter XXXV.
  59. 59Mr. Wickfield and His Partner Wait Upon My Aunt
  60. 60Chapter XXXVI.

About this edition

Author
Charles Dickens
Era
Modern (c. 1800–1945)
Reading level
Intermediate: some philosophy helps
Formats
EPUB, PDF
Length
966 pages
This edition
Modern Philosophers