David Copperfield. Charles Dickens

p>CHARLES DICKENS

      David Copperfield

      DAVID COPPERFIELD

      ‘Of all my books,’ wrote Charles Dickens, ‘I like this the best. Like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.’

      Dickens himself had a difficult, unhappy childhood, and young David’s life is not at all easy. His father died before he was born, and when he is eight, his mother marries again. Her new husband, Mr Murdstone, is stern and cruel, and so is his disagreeable sister, the stony-faced Miss Murdstone. As he grows up, David meets many unpleasant people – cruel schoolmasters, wicked friends, and the evil Uriah Heep, with his oily smile.

      But there are other people in David’s life too. There is Peggotty, his kind loving nurse, and slow Mr Barkis, a man of very few words. There is David’s aunt, who tries hard to be stern but who has a heart of gold. There are the unlucky Micawbers, cheerful and despairing by turns, always waiting for something to ‘turn up’. There is quiet gentle Agnes, always a true and wise friend. And then there is Dora, the loveliest girl you ever saw, with her golden hair and blue eyes – sweet, pretty, silly Dora …

Great Clarendon Street, Oxford 0X2 6DPOxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide inOxford New YorkAuckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong KarachiKuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City NairobiNew Delhi Shanghai Taipei TorontoWith offices inArgentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France GreeceGuatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal SingaporeSouth Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine VietnamOXFORD and OXFORD ENGLISH are registered trade marks of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countriesThis simplified edition © Oxford University Press 2008Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published in Oxford Bookworms 19942 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1No unauthorized photocopyingAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the ELT Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirerAny websites referred to in this publication are in the public domain and their addresses are provided by Oxford University Press for information only. Oxford University Press disclaims any responsibility for the contentISBN 978 0 19 479219 6A complete recording of this Bookworms edition of David Copperfield is available on audio CD ISBN 978 0 19 479203 5Typeset by Wyvern Typesetting Ltd. BristolACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Illustrated by: Martin HargreavesWord count (main text): 24,770 wordsFor more information on the Oxford Bookworms Library, visit www.oup.com/bookwormswww.oup.com/bookworms e-Book ISBN 978 0 19 478633 1e-Book first published 2012

      PEOPLE IN THIS STORY

      David Copperfield

      Mrs Clara Copperfield, David’s mother

      Peggotty, the Copperfields’ servant

      Daniel Peggotty, her brother

      Mr Edward Murdstone, David’s stepfather

      Miss Murdstone, Mr Murdstone’s sister

      Mr Barkis, a cart driver

      Mr Micawber, an unsuccessful businessman

      Mrs Micawber, his wife

      Miss Betsey Trotwood, David’s aunt

      Mr Dick, Miss Trotwood’s companion

      Mr Wickfield, Miss Trotwood’s lawyer

      Agnes, Mr Wickfield’s daughter

      Uriah Heep, Mr Wickfield’s assistant

      Mrs Heep, Uriah Heep’s mother

      Mr Spenlow, a lawyer

      Dora, Mr Spenlow’s daughter

      Miss Julia Mills, Dora’s friend

      I was born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk, in the east of England, and was given my poor father’s name, David Copperfield. Sadly, he never saw me. He was much older than my mother when they married, and died six months before I was born. My father’s death made my beautiful young mother very unhappy, and she knew she would find life extremely difficult with a new baby and no husband.

      The richest and most important person in our family was my father’s aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood. She had in fact been married once, to a handsome young husband. But because he demanded money from her, and sometimes beat her, she decided they should separate. He went abroad, and soon news came of his death. Miss Trotwood bought a small house by the sea, and lived there alone, with only one servant.

      She had not spoken to my father since his marriage, because she considered he had made a mistake in marrying a very young girl. But just before I was born, when she heard that my mother was expecting a baby, she came to visit Blunderstone.

      It was a cold, windy Friday afternoon in March. My mother was sitting by the fire, feeling very lonely and unhappy, and crying a little. Suddenly a stern, strange-looking face appeared at the window.

      ‘Open the door!’ ordered the stern-faced lady. My mother was shocked, but obeyed at once. ‘You must be David Copperfield’s wife,’ said the lady as she entered. ‘I’m Betsey Trotwood. You’ve heard of me?’

      ‘Yes,’ whispered my mother, trembling.

      ‘How young you are!’ cried Miss Betsey. ‘Just a baby!’

      My mother started sobbing again. ‘I know I look like a child! I know I was young to be a wife, and I’m young to be a mother! But perhaps I’ll die before I become a mother!’

      ‘Come, come!’ answered Miss Betsey. ‘Have some tea. Then you’ll feel better. What do you call your girl?’

      ‘My girl? I don’t know yet that it will be a girl,’ replied my mother miserably.

      ‘No, I don’t mean the baby, I mean your servant!’

      ‘Her name’s Peggotty. Her first name’s Clara, the same as mine, so I call her by her family name, you see.’

      ‘What a terrible name! However, never mind. Peggotty!’ she called, going to the door. ‘Bring Mrs Copperfield some tea at once!’ She sat down again and continued speaking. ‘You were talking about the baby. I’m sure it’ll be a girl. Now, as soon as she’s born …’

      ‘He, perhaps,’ said my mother bravely.

      ‘Don’t be stupid, of course it’ll be a she. I’m going to send her to school, and educate her well. I want to prevent her from making the mistakes I’ve made in life.’ Miss Betsey looked quite angry as she said this. My mother said nothing, as she was not feeling at all well. ‘But tell me, were you and your husband happy?’ asked Miss Betsey.

      This made my poor mother feel worse than ever. ‘I know I wasn’t very sensible – about money – or cooking – or things like that!’ she sobbed. ‘But we loved each other – and he was helping me to learn – and then he died! Oh! Oh!’ And she fell back in her chair, completely unconscious.

      Peggotty, who came in just then with the tea, realized how serious the situation