Day 13: A Fictional Book

The first fictional book that came to my mind is also one of my all-time favorites- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. No, this book has NOTHING to do with the magician of the same name, but it chronicles the life of a poor boy named David Copperfield. David's father died when he was a boy and his mother remarried and the stepfather did not like David. His mother and younger brother died, he was sent to work at at a glue factory and then went to live with his aunt where she renamed him "Trotwood Copperfield" whose nickname is "Trot." Dickens does a fabulous job of having David associate with the most memorable characters like Mister Micawber who is continually in debt. I won't tell too much more about the story but I absolutely LOVE it. There is a great film version of it with a young Daniel Radcliffe as David (I think its by the BBC). I read the book for my study abroad class while in London and I was able to go and visit Charles Dickens' house.

In the preface to the book, Dickens wrote "like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield." In researching for a paper about the book, I discovered that many events that occurred in the book resemble or parallel events that occurred in the life of Charles Dickens, making it the most autobiographical of all his novels. The story is told from the perspective of David and when I read it, I truly feel like I am gaining insight into who Charles Dickens was. Like Dickens, this too is "my favourite child" of his writings :-)