David Copperfield

"David Copperfield" was Charles Dickens' favorite novel and is also his most personal. The book has captivated generations of readers and has been formative youth literature for many. Great authors such as Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, Vladimir Nabokov, and Elias Canetti revered it throughout their lives.

It is primarily a tale of suffering in Victorian England. Born after his father's death and following his mother's unfortunate remarriage, young David must endure a hellish school experience. At just ten years old, he is forced to work and can only escape the inhumane conditions of the early industrial factory system by fleeing. His aunt Betsey takes him in warmly. Slowly, it seems that fortunes are changing. Like Dickens, David becomes a law clerk, reporter, and eventually a successful writer. "The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger" was published in 1849/50: a work full of humor and tragedy, one of the great childhood and coming-of-age novels in world literature.

The great English Bildungsroman is, alongside "Oliver Twist," the most famous book by the author. Although various editions of the classic exist, the last German version is now nearly three-quarters of a century old. Now, a worthy and readable translation for the 21st century is available, long desired by Dickens fans and readers of great classics: masterfully translated by Melanie Walz, whose "Middlemarch" has already received great critical acclaim.