David Copperfield (Ignatius Critical Editions)

“I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child”, wrote Charles Dickens. “And his name is David Copperfield.” Since the first installment appeared in 1849, readers have shared Charles Dickens’ deep affection for his most personal novel. Amid the bustle and color of early-Victorian England, the eponymous young protagonist makes his path through sorrow, suffering, and naiveté to heroic maturation. In his travails, young David is accompanied by a delicious cast of characters: his abusive stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; the charming scapegrace, Mr. Micawber; his eccentric Aunt Betsey Trotwood; his morally fragile childhood hero, Steerforth; the loathsome villain, Uriah Heep; and the angelic Agnes Wickfield. From birth to manhood, the innocence and eventual maturity of young Copperfield, reflecting influences from Dickens’ own childhood and formation, make this beloved bildungsroman one of the greatest novels ever written.

Joseph Pearce is the author of numerous literary works including Literary Converts, The Quest for Shakespeare and Shakespeare on Love, and the editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions series. His other books include literary biographies of Oscar Wilde, J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton and Alexander Solzhenitsyn.