About this title: Dickens's heavily autobiographical novel describing a young man's rise in the world is a classic coming-of-age story. David Copperfield, the narrator, is orphaned at a tender age and raised first by his brutal stepfather (who halts his schooling and sends him to work in a factory--as did Dickens's own father), then by a kindly aunt. He trains for ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: "Illustrated Classic Editions"
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: I. Waldman & Son, Inc. (Moby Books), New York
Date Published: 1979
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, lightly read, slight shelf wear to cover, light slant to book. 238 p. Includes illustrations. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Dell
Date Published: 1963
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Signed by previous owner. Nice soft cover, lightly read, shelf wear to cover, some wear on top & bottom of spine, bend on corners of cover, light aging to pages, stk #2503nfm8. 416 p. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Bantam Classics
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780553211894ISBN:0553211897
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Fine. Almost as new. No markings or creasing. Very slight edgewear. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 960 p. Bantam Classics. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. Softcover, Landoll's, 1995, cover has some shelf, edge and corner wear, text is clean and spine is tight, ships within 24 hr. sku R 10 A. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Tor Classics
Date Published: 1998-09-15
ISBN-13:9780812544046ISBN:0812544048
Description: Very Good. Light age tanning. Po's initials inside front, otherwise like new. Free tracking # with every domestic order. Daily shipping! ! ! read more
Description: Fine. 0451522923 Excellent condition paperback book, clean pages, NO creases to spine, this book is Near NEW! Shop & Save With US. read more
Description: Very Good. 0553211897 Great condition paperback book, clean pages, mild creases to spine, some edge/corner rubs, this book is GREAT! Shop & Save With US. read more
Description: Very Good. 0451522923 Great condition paperback book, clean pages, mild creases to spine, some edge/corner rubs, this book is GREAT! Shop & Save With US. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). 845 p. Good reading copy. Has a coffee stain on the cover and spine, shelf/surface wear, and the edges are tanned from age. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Date Published: 6/10/1999
ISBN-13:9780192835789ISBN:0192835785
Description: Fine. 0192835785 Ships from PA, 15-day return for any reason. Fast Shipping, thank you for your order. Wear on corners and edges Minor tear on DJ. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: N A L, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1962
ISBN-13:9780451522924ISBN:0451522923
Description: Fair. 12mo. {002141} David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. ISBN 0451522923. Published by N A L in 1962. MASS MARKET PAPERBACK 12mo Classics {Book Condition} FAIR {Book Condition Details} Binding: slightly frayed ends, Cover: rubbing, soiled, darkening, edge wear, soiling, heavy creasing on Spine, creasing, scuffing, End Papers: owner inscription(s) on front free endpaper, tanning on front paste down, Text: tanning, creasing, occasional underlining, water wrinkled pages. {Blurb} … the magic and ... read more
Description: Very Good. 0460872362 Very good condition, No markings or underlining inside book except for a name written on the edge of the book, cover has some mild shelf wear, ** Satisfaction Guaranteed ** Orders ship same or next business day. read more
"Like many people, I never could get too interested in Dickens when it was assigned in junior high or high school. He always seemed like such a chore to read, with the garrulous style, the zillions of characters (all with weird names), and sheer length of a lot of the books.
Fortunately for me, I decided to give him another try, and now I'm madly in love with him. It's hard to say anything about him and his work that hasn't been said already, but as a friend of mine observed, it's startling how modern Dickens's characters are, and how keen an observer of human psychology he is. Mrs. Gummidge finding herself in helping others; David's dawning realization his impetuous decisions, and his acceptance of them; Steerforth's tragic self-awareness coupled with his inability to change himself -- all these characters would be perfectly at home in a book by Jonathan Franzen or Alice Munro.
The book is flawed, of course. As others have observed, Dickens is pretty much a disaster when it comes to writing women characters. He doesn't do too much better here than anywhere else, with the possible exception of the majestically bitter Rosa Dartle. And the ending is, incongruously, a bit pat.
Still, this was one of those book I couldn't wait to get home and read, and I'm looking forward to reading more Dickens."
"While not exactly a light, summer read, and a book that takes a bit of time to get into its own unique rhythm, I came to like this book and am glad that I read it. I was only familiar with Dickens tales from the movie versions (think...Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol), so it took a few hundred pages or so for me to begin to appreciate his style, humor (yes there was some!) and characters. After quite a morose start, which was what I had expected of a Dickens novel, the book improved immensely. Once I learned to slow down and enjoy the novel at the leisurely pace that its 800 plus pages and long, descriptive sentences seemed to demand, I began to enjoy the beauty of Dickens writing, the depth of his characters, and the telling of a good tale. While the end seems to wrap up most conveniently, as do many novels it seems, I can forgive the novel this as I had long come to care for the characters ...having "lived" with them for the good month that this novel consumed my attention. While David Copperfield is quite a commitment for a reader to make, I feel the better for having read it."
"I feel so adolescent for rating this book as a one. I feel like I missed something important when I see how many people loved and adored this classic novel. I love Charles Dickens, and although I was a little nervous to tackle such a large book I thought it would be worth it since, after all, it's a classic! It's revered for a reason right?
It took me three months to get halfway through it. There are dozens of characters, and most of them hardly contribute to the plot in any way. It is frustrating straining to recall names and their relation to David, only to discover three pages later that there was no need to. And maybe I'm just stupid, but there are a lot of times when Dickens is implying that something more is going on, and I don't catch it. The only reason I continued to read was because I thought it was a literary technique and the events would become clearer as I read. I cannot recall how many times I told people, "Oh, the plot is just at a dead spot, it will pick up soon." When I realized that I was saying that for 300 pages, I knew it was time to quit. I couldn't find any personal enjoyment in the book other than a coupe really neat quotes that I wrote down.
I may just be ignorant and too unintelligent to appreciate good literature, but I find it hard to believe that anyone with my IQ and age or less would ever gain anything for putting up with the long wordy sentences of this novel. I'm not a "pool-side-book reader", I love and admire intelligent and classic words. David Copperfield just isn't one of them. I regret the time I spent trying to read it."
"My first Dickens!(in a really long time, I've also read A Tale of Two Cities, Twice!) Slow start, but ended up being one I gave up sleep to read! Loved it! Loved the characters, the setting, all the different conflicts. Was appalled by David's first marriage, even wished for her death, and my wish was granted! Although, I felt bad after the horrible things I thought about Dora Spenlow! Gratefully, my bro-in-law reminded me that the characters aren't real people! But, isn't what makes a book good, when the characters become so real you feel like you are right there with them, loving them, hating them, crying with (or for) them,and laughing with (or at) them?"
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