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Originally published as a serial, David Copperfield was Dickens’ favourite novel, a preference millions of his readers have endorsed. An autobiographical novel, it tells the story of the posthumous child David, who has a miserable childhood, first in his stepfather’s house, then at a nasty school, followed by drudgery in a factory until, unable to bear any more of this, he decides to throw himself at the mercy of his aunt and runs away to Dover. He is received kindly, given an education and legal training. He then falls in love with the pretty, but feather-brained daughter of the partner of the legal firm. But his wife Dora doesn’t live long. David, once blind to the affection of the highly intelligent and sweet-tempered Agnes, whom he had neglected in Canterbury at the home of his guardian Mr Wickfield, now begins to appreciate her value. He is instrumental in rescuing her father from the clutches of the arch villain Uriah Heep, and finally marries Agnes. About the Author Born in 1812, Charles Dickens’ childhood was unsettled and his learning, unsteady. As a youngster, he had to undertake a number of humiliatingly menial jobs before he built up a career as a journalist. With Pickwick Papers he rose to fame and success. The years to follow witnessed a prolific output of his successful writings. His life and career were amazingly eventful, and after a frenzied life of fifty-eight years, he died in 1870.