Audiobook · read by volunteers
David Copperfield
Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
Read by valikojohn, Muhammad Mussnoon, Lucy Burgoyne (1950-2014), Lorelle Anderson, Simon Evers, Debra Lynn, M.C.Y., redabrus, John Gonzalez, Jonny Lee · 65 chapters · 35 h 41
About the book
David Copperfield is born a few months after his father’s death, grows up in a loving home, and then loses his happiness when a stern stepfather appears. Sent away to a harsh school and then to work in a London warehouse, he must make his own way in the world, among a crowd of unforgettable people: the generous Peggotty, the eccentric Mr. Micawber, the falsely humble Uriah Heep, the formidable aunt Betsey Trotwood. Charles Dickens turns the story of one boy’s growth into a rich panorama of Victorian life, full of comedy, danger, love and sorrow. David Copperfield is a long novel, and in this recording it lasts nearly thirty-six hours. It is a book to live with, a companion for weeks of listening. This is a great novel that rewards the time it takes.
Introduction
Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was the most popular English novelist of the nineteenth century. David Copperfield was published in monthly parts in 1849 and 1850 and as a book in 1850. Like all but five of his works, it first appeared in serial form. Dickens called it his favourite among his novels, and it draws on his own memories of childhood hardship, including his time working in a factory as a boy.
The recording begins with the author’s preface and then follows the chapters, starting with I Am Born, and runs to sixty-five parts. The novel has a first-person narrator, which gives it an intimate quality, and it contains some of Dickens’s funniest scenes along with moving passages about loss and growing up. Many consider it a masterpiece for its characters and its warmth. For those who have never read Dickens, it offers an ideal starting point.
Even listeners who know the story from films or television will find that the full text brings out its humour and its depth. Dickens was a celebrated public reader of his own work, and his prose, full of rhythm and comic repetition, suits a spoken voice very well.
Sixty-five recordings, about 35.7 hours in all, are shared among many LibriVox volunteers, so David’s life passes through a number of voices. Chapter titles such as I Am Born, I Begin Life on my Own Account, and Do Not Like It and Somebody Turns Up mark the stages of a life, and the book can be followed a few chapters at a time over many weeks. The minor characters are often the ones listeners remember longest.
Public domain
Charles Dickens died in 1870: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text