Synopsis
David Copperfield is born to his mother Clara, who was widowed before her son's birth. He has an idyllic life. David visits the family of his nanny Peggotty in their (upturned) boathouse in Yarmouth as a child. When he returns, he finds out Clara has married the sinister and cruel Mr. Murdstone. David is bullied by his new stepfather and step-aunt. When Murdstone harasses Clara, David tries to defend her, but is beaten by Murdstone, who sends him to work in Murdstone's factory in London where he lodges with the Micawbers, who are pursued by their creditors.
A few years later, David is now a young man still working at Murdstone's factory. On pieces of paper, he has been jotting quotes by people important in his life. The Micawbers are driven out of their house by bailiffs, who also seize their possessions. David is told of his mother's death and funeral and wreaks havoc in the factory. Upon finding out his aunt Betsey Trotwood is his only living relative, he goes back to Dover where he finds his wealthy aunt and her lodger, the eccentric Mr. Dick, who has an obsession with King Charles I's head about 200 years prior. Mr. Dick thinks that when Charles was executed, the King's troubled thoughts took up residence in his own mind. He, like David, jots them down on pieces of paper.
David helps Mr. Dick clear his mind by transferring these papers to a kite which Mr Dick then flies. David also meets Mr. Wickfield, Betsey's accountant, and his daughter Agnes. To continue his studies, David is admitted to a school for boys, where he meets James Steerforth. David has a boxing match with a local thug who mocks him and Steerforth, and is knocked out in two punches, knowing almost nothing about boxing. Wickfield's clerk Uriah Heep invites him for tea with his mother. Mr. Micawber briefly joins the school as a teacher, but is exposed by Steerforth and is shown the door.
David goes to Uriah's house for tea, as he had promised a few days earlier. Uriah tries to blackmail him with the knowledge he gained of David's past. Later, David finds out Uriah has been hired as an assistant to Mr. Wickfield at his firm and is attempting to court Agnes. There is a farewell party at the boys' school, where David meets Steerforth's mother and a girl named Dora Spenlow, with whom he falls in love. He is hired as a trainee lawyer in Mr Spenlow's law firm in London. There he lives the life of a 'young gentleman' and courts Dora.
His aunt Betsey turns up unexpectedly at his London lodgings with Mr. Dick: she tells him she has been ruined, and they all decamp to a slum dwelling. David visits Pegotty's house with Steerforth. Pegotty's adopted daughter Emily runs away with Steerforth, leaving her fiancé and childhood 'brother' Ham. Mr. Micawber is now living on the streets with his family and has pawned his concertina, which he asks Mr. Dick to buy back. However, when Mr. Dick is given a price of a pound for the concertina, he tricks the shopkeeper and steals it. The Micawbers are