David Copperfield Dickensalong

Wrong thread Piggy? Think that was probably meant for the Dombey thread!

Zombie thread reanimation.

I was on the original Bleak House thread (still my favourite Dickens) and today I finished David Copperfield. Apologies for not keeping up with your timeframe Piggy.
I haven’t been reading it for 5 years 😂

Will read through this thread during tea breaks to see if others loved it as much as I did.

Agree Piggy, none of the female characters except Aunt Betsy stand out.

I can't remember whether I've mentioned it on the thread before but it's worth tracking down Christine Edzard's 1987 Little Dorrit which was a TV version and in several parts - it's on DVD. Because she had the time to devote to it, she really got the feel of Dickens right imho....and the costumes and design were staggeringly good.

Terpsichore I agree that anyone relying on the film only would end up with a completely different idea of the plot/characters compared to the book. Places also looked different to how I pictured them - the houseboat was much more colourful than I think it really would have been!

Not sure if there’ll be any more comments on the film but I did manage to rewatch it...funnily enough I didn’t enjoy it as much the second time around, having now finished the book, but I can appreciate what a mammoth challenge Armando Iannucci had trying to boil down such a hefty book with so many characters into a 2-hour film (I suppose eg merging Mrs Steerforth and Rosa Dartle was one way of streamlining things).

I felt overall that he lost his way a bit around the conflated blacking factory/school section, which seemed to drag on for a long time, but loved Miss Trotwood and Mr Dick. And the entire Dora/marriage/death had to go, too...at the end DH said he wondered what impression someone would get of the book if they’d only watched the film, which is an interesting question. I think it conveyed the general spirit well, albeit on a fairly surface level, so for me it’s a qualified thumbs up rather than down (though I notice there are an awful lot of reviewers on IMDb who absolutely hated it ).

I really liked the film - obviously they had to cut bits out but that’s inevitable with a book that size! I was pleased to see that they managed to get Mealy Potatoes and the donkeys in. The multi racial casting didn’t matter at all to me. Agree with Piggy that Mr Dick was more eccentric than innocent, but still good.

I'm going to say my bit about the book then disappear for a bit I think as I haven't seen the film and would prefer to avoid spoilers.

Firstly thank you to Piggy for being our virtuous guiding light and angel of our better natures on this thread :)

I liked the quiet, low-key ending, the small wedding, the domesticity of Peggoty and Aunt Betsey, Mr Dick flying his kite with the baby Copperfields... It all seemed fitting and right after a book with a lot of heartache and loss.

I was very pleased to see Mr Mell pop up with a happy ending as he was one loose thread who had been bothering me (and I suspected that Dickens would not leave it dangling!). I am finding it hard, though, to be resigned to the ending given to the Murdstones, who, far from getting their come-uppance, have moved on to another unhappy victim. You cant help thinking surely David might have tried to help her in some way (I know, I know, I am overthinking).

Uriah and Littimer seemed entirely unrepentant and ready to break free of their Daily-Mail-editorial-style prison where the meals are excellent and the prisoners all communicate freely, and return to a life of crime. Again, I can't help wishing that they had been more effectively vanquished and wonder why Dickens decided to leave their ending so ambiguous.

I read an interesting review on Goodreads (www.goodreads.com/review/show/674375084?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rating) which talks about some of the real life sources for the characters in this semi-autobiographical novel. Traddles is, apparently, based on one of Dickens' closest friends, Thomas Talfourd, Dickens explaining in a letter that Traddles shared his real life friend's "personal diligence, gentle disposition, and journalistic output".

Mrs Mowcher was based on a real life person, Jane Seymour Hill, who threatened to sue Dickens - meaning that her appearances in the book had to be edited to make them more flattering.

Mr Dick was apparently inspired by the painted Richard Dadd, who had killed his father and spent the rest of his life in psychiatric institutions. I don't know how established this idea is, that Mr Dick is based on Dadd, or how well Dickens knew about Dadd and his illness (modern commentators seem to agree it was probably paranoid schizophrenia) - the murder took place near Rochester and apparently Dickens would take friends on walks to the spot where it happened. Certainly he portrays Mr Dick in a very sympathetic light in DC. It's something that I'd like to read more about.

According to Jean, Betsey Trotwood is based on a real woman who was Dickens's landlady at one point, and who fought a real life war against donkeys :) :)

Yes, he does, Piggy

I haven't had a chance to watch my copy of the film yet and frustratingly I can't tonight either, but I'll do my best to watch it tomorrow morning and join in with some thoughts (watching a film in the morning - the ultimate in loucheness!).

Belatedly adding my thanks to Piggy for leading us through the read along. This is only my second Dickens and I absolutely loved it. I haven't seen the film and probably won't get round to it for a while. The donkeys were definitely roaming wild in my mind. I don't think I'll actually ever be able to say the word 'donkeys' without thinking about Janet now!

I've now watched the film and overall it was very well done. Agree about the donkeys. The casting of Jip was completely wrong.

They could have been grazing donkeys. We live in a very old house that comes with the ancient right to graze a goose, a third of a donkey or a quarter of a horse (!!) on the local common (we’d need to have more rights for a whole one ). And we live quite a long way from said common.

We decided not to bother.

Just thought I’d throw in that arcane fact...

buy = but

I have relatives in Cardiff and one was once visited by location scouts for Doctor Who. Sadly it never came to anything! Another relative’s house can almost buy not quite be seen on screen in the background of one episode.

There are people on the donkeys in the film. Like you I had pictured riderless donkeys just meandering around.