David Copperfield Dickensalong

[Piggywaspushed]

Hello All

Inspired by the Bleak House readalong, I have decided this might be the year to tackle David Copperfield.

Those of us who did BH read it obediently in Dickens' instalments ,which wasn't to everyone's taste! We had a chat at the end of each month. It took 18 months and I think we had three stalwarts left at the end.

DC was published as follows (note different months!):

• I – May 1849 (chapters 1–3);
• II – June 1849 (chapters 4–6);
• III – July 1849 (chapters 7–9);
• IV – August 1849 (chapters 10–12);
• V – September 1849 (chapters 13–15);
• VI – October 1849 (chapters 16–18);
• VII – November 1849 (chapters 19–21);
• VIII – December 1849 (chapters 22–24);
• IX – January 1850 (chapters 25–27);
• X – February 1850 (chapters 28–31);
• XI – March 1850 (chapters 32–34);
• XII – April 1850 (chapters 35–37);
• XIII – May 1850 (chapters 38–40);
• XIV – June 1850 (chapters 41–43);
• XV – July 1850 (chapters 44–46);
• XVI – August 1850 (chapters 47–50);
• XVII – September 1850 (chapters 51–53);
• XVIII – October 1850 (chapters 54–57);
• XIX-XX – November 1850 (chapters 58–64).

I am happy to negotiate reading faster so that we tackle three instalments at a time? Thus , the first would be Chapter 1 -9 and we would be finished in the summer.

What does everyone think?

I dunno if I’m ready for Ulysses...I’m only on chapter 11 - cramming to catch up for Sunday. (By cramming I mean endlessly mumsnetting, reading a few pages at bed time and falling asleep with images of bread and cheese for each meal).

I'm trying not to RTFT to avoid spoilers - which chapter am I supposed to be reading up to tomorrow please?

@KeithLeMonde
End of Chapter 18

Thanks @BookWitch

How are we all enjoying David Copperfield so far, and how have we found the last few chapters.

I enjoyed the chapters with Uriah Heep. I was aware of him as a well-know Dickens character, but didn't know which book he came from so I was happy when his 'umbleness arrived. I'm looking forward to seeing where Dickens goes with him.

Also loved Betsy Trotwood giving the Murdstones hell. I still don't reckon we've seen the last of them.

I do find some chapters much more engaging than others, but I am enjoying it on the whole.

I am enjoying it and loved the intrigue of the naughty clandestine lovers. Don't really get who Wickfield is...

The character I really want to talk about is Mr Dick! Is this an early (and compassionate) representation of autism? Is it dementia? How kind Dickens is towards him is striking. But of course Dickens liked anyway who was kind to children.

I think Mr Dick is what we would call Autistic these days. Dickens wouldn't have the words for it. I suppose severe cases would be locked up and milder cases would just be 'odd ' characters.

My dad grew up in the late 1940s -50s and he said there was an "odd" boy in his class who in retrospect was autistic, the teachers just ignored him.

I’ve just finished chapter 17. Who is Betsey paying money too at night??

Very much enjoying it. I know @Terpsichore pointed out he’s so good at the pen portraits, I do wish sometimes they would have a bit more depth. There are so many.

Can we also have no more naive characters as they are doing my head in.

Micawber is a gambler right? I definitely know someone like him and his wife. All is lost and then jollily eating walnuts on the way to London two minutes later.

I hope David gets his house back in the end!

Off hiking today in the sunshine so savouring chapter 18 for a glass of wine at the end.

Also Mealy Potatoes is my favourite Dickens name ever.

It is a great name!

I agree about too many characters : but that's a Dickens thing. If any other book or TV programme /film is referred to as Dickensian, I know I'll need to get my notebook out to jot down the names !

I agree about finding some chapters more engaging than others.

The Micawbers kind of get on my nerves. I was quite relieved when they buggered off to Plymouth (or was it Portsmouth?) and then disappointed when they reappeared! Glad they have now taken their leave once again but presume we may see more of them as the story progresses.
I am LOVING Betsey, she's an absolute treat :) But who is she paying at night indeed??? Mr Dick is also a great character and the dynamic between him and Betsey is interesting too.

Can't put my finger on it but Uriah Heep freaks me out
What a craftsman Dickens was!

I agree about Uriah Heep being creepy. It's a good writer that can do that with a character, he makes you feel uncomfortable without really knowing why

For those who haven't seen the film, Hugh Laurie plays Mr Dick wonderfully.

I think Dickens was always interested in 'outsiders' of society and the way they were treated by various characters is always very telling - eg Smike in Nicholas Nickleby, who clearly had some sort of mental/physical disability, is horribly abused at Dotheboys Hall by the Squeers family, but Nicholas stands up to Mr Squeers in a key scene and rescues Smike, who then lives a happy life free of terror and neglect.

A similar (though less extreme) thing is happening with Mr Dick, I think. He obviously has some mental affliction that could have seen him committed to an asylum - often very grim places indeed in the 19thc - if not for Miss Trotwood, who rescued him somehow and treats him as a valued friend. It's a very compassionate and moving piece of writing, and rounds out Miss Trotwood's character so well.

A couple of years ago I read an excellent book by Sarah Wise about private asylums and the terrible abuses that arose (basically, anyone even slightly eccentric could be committed if their relatives wanted to get their hands on their money) so as soon as I got to this passage I suspected this was what might have happened to Mr. Dick.

Sorry for the epic post.....I just find it fascinating!

I’ve been desperate to comment on the name Mealy Potatoes since I read it! Dickens is brilliant at names generally but that is the best character name I’ve ever read! Sadly he doesn’t appear in the list of characters at the front of my book so I’m guessing we never hear of him again. Shame!

I am thoroughly enjoying this. I loved the comic scene with the Murdstones and the donkeys. This section of chapters has included some fantastic characters - Betsey Trotwood, Mr Dick and Uriah Heep are all drawn so well.

I was really pleased the Micawbers came back and I’m hoping to see them again. I think they would be very annoying people to know in real life but I enjoy reading about them. Who plays Mr Micawber in the film?

@Terpsichore so do I. I read a book on the history of Broadmoor a few years ago and there was a list of things women could be put away for. Like "Female Melancholy and hysteria" (Probably PMT or menopause symptoms) or "lewd sexual behaviour" (enjoying sex).

I missed the film in the cinema, will wait until I've finished the book before I watch the DVD. It should be out by then

Dickens is certainly a master of names.
The only other books I've read is Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol - love Fezziwig, Mr Bumble, Mr Sowerberry, Bob Cratchit - all genius.

@ChessieFL I think it is Peter Capaldi but I'll stand corrected by someone who has seen it

It is Peter Capaldi, yes.

I'm finding it hard to keep track of everyone but found a kids study guide that is helping. They do all seem to be caricatures without much depth at this point. I'm getting quite annoyed with DCs naivety.

I fell apart at Janet! Donkeys! as my friend Janet is in a similar situation with dogs on her lawn.

As last time I've over read and gone to the end of chapter 20. I'm holding off until the last week and then I'm struggling to stop. I'm surprised to be enjoying it so much as I haven't had that positive an experience with Dickens in the past.

As you know I love Janet! Donkeys!

But I also liked the page where he 'fell in love' with the schoolgirl. I thought that was really sweetly done and actually proper laughed at that and the donkeys, which one does always expect to do with Victorian literature. (although Dairyman Dick in Tess also makes me laugh)

There are a whole load of very interesting novels and non fiction books about insane asylums kicking around at the moment, some better written that others. I liked The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale, for example, and The Ballroom by Anna Hope and Dark Water by I forget who are also good.

One for the Janet! Donkeys! fans

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Hornsea-Janet-Donkeys-Betsey-Trotwood-David-Copperfield-Tankard-Mug-/153694603886

I suspect one reason for DC's seeming innocence is that the early part of the book is so heavily autobiographical and Dickens was so vividly reliving his own experiences. He took large parts of the blacking factory episode directly from his own life - at the point of writing the book he hadn't told anyone about it, not even his closest friends, and it was a source of intense pain and shame for him.

His parents were the Micawbers: his father was permanently in debt and was sent to the Marshalsea (debtors) prison. All the things that happened to the Micawbers (bailiffs pursuing them, having to pawn everything, moving to escape their creditors) happened to the Dickens family. And in later life Dickens had an absolute horror of debt and a terror of being poverty-stricken. He also never forgave his parents.

It's a shame that's such an ugly mug, as it were!

If anyone else gets the Sunday Times, do read page 13 : Dickens better for mental health than self-help groups .Good to hear!