David Copperfield

“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.”

Charles Dickens's most personal novel is the story of a boy who loses everything—and finds himself along the way. It is his own favorite among his books, and for generations of readers, it has been the doorway into his world.

David Copperfield is born on a Friday, at the stroke of midnight, and told he is destined to be unlucky. He is not wrong. His childhood is a series of disasters: a cruel stepfather, a miserable boarding school, and forced labor in a London warehouse at the age of ten. But David survives. He runs away, finds a kind aunt, and slowly builds a life as a writer. Along the way, he meets some of Dickens's most unforgettable characters: the obsequious Uriah Heep ("'umble"), the feckless Micawber (waiting for something to turn up), the angelic Agnes Wickfield, and the beautiful, disastrous Dora Spenlow. David's journey is one of love, loss, betrayal, and the slow, painful discovery of what it means to be a good man.

This is Dickens at his most warm and wise: a novel about resilience, forgiveness, and the belief that even the unluckiest boy can become the hero of his own life. David Copperfield is the novel that contains all of Dickens—the humor, the sorrow, the outrage, and the hope.

• Dickens's own favorite among his novels, written with extraordinary autobiographical feeling

• Introduces some of his greatest characters: Mr. Micawber, Uriah Heep, Betsey Trotwood, and Little Em'ly

• A bildungsroman (coming-of-age story) that has influenced countless writers, from James Joyce to J.D. Salinger

Available in multiple formats:

• Paperback & Hardcover: Beautifully designed print editions presenting the complete, unabridged text made to last.

• Ebook: DRM-free EPUB compatible with Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and all major e-readers.

• Audiobook: Professionally narrated, complete and unabridged, available on all major audiobook platforms.

A beautifully crafted edition for your shelf, your device, or your ears—or the perfect gift for anyone who believes that no beginning is too unlucky to end well.

About the Author

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was an English novelist, journalist, and social critic, widely regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Born in Portsmouth, he endured a childhood of poverty and forced labor in a blacking factory after his father was imprisoned for debt—experiences that shaped his lifelong commitment to social reform. David Copperfield (1850) was his most autobiographical novel, drawing directly on his own early hardships. In the preface, he called it his "favorite child." His major works include Oliver Twist (1837), Bleak House (1853), Hard Times(1854), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), and Great Expectations (1861). Dickens died of a stroke in 1870 and is buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.