David Copperfield,Paperback | 768 pages

Introduction and Notes by Dr Adrienne Gavin, Canterbury Christ Church University College. Illustrations by Hablot K. Browne (Phiz).Dickens wrote of David Copperfield: 'Of all my books I like this the best'. Millions of readers in almost every language on earth have subsequently come to share the author's own enthusiasm for this greatly loved classic, possibly because of its autobiographical form.Following the life of David through many sufferings and great adversity, the reader will also find many light-hearted moments in the company of a host of English fiction's greatest stars including Mr Micawber, Traddles, Uriah Heep, Creakle, Betsy Trotwood, and the Peggoty family.Few readers, arriving at the end of David Copperfield, will not wish to echo Thackeray's famous praise, having read the first monthly part - `Bravo Dickens'.

About Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens (1812-1870), born in Landport near Portsea, grew up in Chatham near London. When he was eleven years old, his father had to go to jail for not redeemed promissory notes; his mother followed him there with Charles' siblings. Meanwhile, Charles, the second oldest child, had to work in a shoe factory. It was only when the father was released after a few months that Charles went back to school. At the age of fifteen, he started working as an assistant in a law firm, later becoming a newspaper reporter.
He began his writing career with his sketches of everyday life in London. Then the first novels were written in quick succession. Dickens became editor of the liberal London newspaper "Daily News", traveled to the USA and Italy and wrote "David Copperfield" in 1848/1849, which contains a lot of autobiographical material.
Dickens' loving descriptions of human weaknesses, his cosmos of quirky and quirky English "originals" and the satirical denunciation of social grievances made him one of the most popular novelists in world literature during his lifetime. His books also brought him considerable wealth. Since 1860 he lived at his country house Gad's Hill Place in Kent, where he died of a stroke at the age of only 58.