Today is Charles Dickens 200th birthday, and though I read a ton of books each year, I just read my first Charles Dickens' novel, David Copperfield. and I loved it! My only excuse for not reading one of his works earlier is that as a teenager in school I was forced to read a number of "classics"---Kim by Rudyard Kipling, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephan Crane and numerous others I was too young and too immature to appreciate. It gave me a horror of "classic"novels and to a large extent I have avoided them ever since. But now that I'm older and a bit wiser I hope, I've decided to read some of the authors I've given a miss through the years and I decided I'd start with Dickens, and after reading synopses of several of his novels I decided on David Copperfield, both because it sounded interesting and because it is considered the most biographical of his novels and I thought it might give me some insight into the author.
It was wonderful! Full of humor, sadness, pain, goodness, and great, great characters. Uriah Heep was as vile as his name sounds, and Mr. Micawber with his words of advice---"My other piece of advice, Copperfield," said Mr. Micawber, "you know. Annual income twenty pound, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery. The blossom is blighted, the leaf is withered, the god od day goes down upong the dreary scene, and, in shbort, you are forever floored. As I am!". is just a joy, he was my favorite character.
I plan to read more Dickens and I believe Great Expectations is next on my list.
So Happy Birthday Charles Dickens.
I think G Expectations is his best. Or at least, the best of the ones I've read.
ReplyDeleteI read David Copperfield as a set book at school and it was OK. I don't honestly like Dickens much, the only books of his that I've really enjoyed are A Christmas Carol and A Tale Of Two Cities - read that if you can, it's a wonderful story.
ReplyDeleteLike Rowan, I loved a Christms Carol.
ReplyDeleteHelenxx
Of all the Dickens books I have read, David C. is probably my favourite. Mr. Micawber does have some really great lines - "The twins are no longer deriving their sustenance from nature's founts--in short, they are weaned." For some reason that one has always stuck in my head.
ReplyDeleteBleak House is hugely long, but amazingly good. Incredible pathos, drama, and humor.
I also really liked Our Mutual Friend and Nicholas Nickleby.
P.S. Forgot to say thank you so much for your kind comment. I was so very glad to be able to sit with my mom for hours, hold her hand, and tell her I loved her. (She's gone now.)
ReplyDeleteMy favourite Dickens is 'A Tale of Two Cities' which we did as a set book at school, I loved the character of Sydney Carton. I've also read and enjoyed 'Little Dorrit'. I know the stories of David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby well as I've seen so many film and tv adaptations over the years; same with Bleak House. There was a wondeful adaptation of 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' on TV here at New Year which I really enjoyed:)
ReplyDeleteI like Dickens. My favourite I think is Bleak House. I also liked Hard Times.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I promise not to drive you crazy and leave a comment on every single post you have ever done but I also did a post on Charles Dickens. It really was in response to an article in one of the British newspapers...have to take up for Charles Dickens, for Pete's sake!
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