David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens · first published 1800
18% recommend73% neutral9% critical
Why HN recommends it
A long, richly drawn novel with vivid, memorable characters and an immersive, leisurely pace. It suits readers starting out on life or anyone looking for a great novel to enjoy.
Common criticism: Its length and slow pace put some readers off, and a few find it less appealing than Dickens's other novels.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
It adds to the charm of this book to remember that it is virtually a picture of the author's own boyhood. It is an excellent picture of the life of a struggling English youth in the middle of the last century. The pictures of Canterbury and London are true pictures and through these pages walk one of Dickens' wonderful processions of characters, quaint and humorous, villainous and tragic. Nobody cares for Dickens heroines, least of all for Dora, but take it all in al, l this book is enjoyed by young people more than any other of the great novelist. After having read this you will wish to read
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…inclined, and I simply hate discussing and arguing minutia like this. It just doesn't matter, and my time is limited. I don't want to argue with you on what Dickens meant by a certain character's dialogue in David Copperfield, I'd just like to enjoy it as a great novel. (That is fairly specific, and there are instances where it's fun to think about, but in general it isn't.) > Clearly you don't care about that topic,…
on “Famous judge spikes Apple-Google case, calls patent system “dysfunctional”” ↗…well Margaret Atwood - "The handmaid's tale" Khaled Hosseini - "The kite runner" Agatha Christie - "The murder of Roger Ackroyd" (very surprising plot) Andy Weir - "The Martian" Charles Dickens - "David Copperfield" Clare Mackintosh - "I let you go" Carlos Ruiz Zafón - "The Shadow of the Wind" M.R. Carey - "The girl with all the gifts"
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?” ↗…assign Dickens? Go ahead and read the Christmas Carol at this time of year; it's short and not too hard to grasp, and with enough hooks to go into Victorian society and other related topics. But assign David Copperfield? Great book, but for teenagers way too long for a work that old and removed. A teenager could read four novels that do connect with them in the same time. Sure, some teens might be ready for it, but it's…
on “Mutual Friends: The Adventures of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins” ↗Either David Copperfield by Charles Dickens or Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Both are very long novels that get better and better with every page.
on “Ask HN: What were the best books you read this year?” ↗Came here to recommend Brothers Karamazov and also add David Copperfield. I've read Dickens was a favorite of Dostoevsky, and David Copperfield has characters you'll remember all your life. It is especially good to read as you're setting out on life, e.g. halfway through college.…
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite novel? Why?” ↗Funny, when I was in middle school I found an old copy of David Copperfield at the bottom of my closet. Its a 700 page novel, but the prose at the time blew me away. The drawn out scenes and vivid characters captured my imagination. I dont think I can ever get that kind of experience…
on “The Mystery of Charles Dickens” ↗…eagerly look forward to the next chapter, and each one left me wanting more. I suggest that the next time you take on a serial, be it a modern web serial or one of the great serials of the Western canon (David Copperfield is excellent), slow your roll. Read a chapter a day, or a chapter a week. They have an inherently different pacing and if it's frustrating you, slow down.
on “Unsong, a fantasy novel where the universe is programmable with Hebrew (2015)” ↗…Power Broker last year I decided to read two "big" books. In the first half of the year War and Peace, which obviously was excellent, although I liked Middlemarch more. In the second half of the year David Copperfield which was very excellent. Just beautifully written. I still think I probably like Middlemarch more... but it might now require a re-read to know for sure. This year is going to be Tom's Crossing to start…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…encounters such a statement? It's impossible to read in a leisurely manner for me as well. But I do have good news: Far fewer writers do this than in the past. Here's a sentence from the first page of "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens: In consideration of the day and hour of my birth, it was declared by the nurse, and by some sage women in the neighbourhood who had taken a lively interest in me several months before…
on “Lone Geniuses Are Overrated” ↗…three and thirty days ... Genesis 11.16: And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg ... Genesis 11.12: And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years ... What about more recently? In David Copperfield (1850) by Charles Dickens, we still find: About five-and-twenty boys were studiously engaged at their books when we went in ..." ‘Six-and-thirty years ago, this day, my dear,’ said my aunt,…
on “Why are German numbers backwards?” ↗…Pride and Predudice by Jane Austen: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/jane-austen/pride-and-prej... - Vanity Fair by William Thackeray: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-makepeace-thackera... - David Copperfield by Charles Dickens: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/charles-dickens/david-copp... - Washington Irving collection: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/washington-irving/the-sket... - Father Goriot by…
on “Harvard Classics Book Download” ↗Hopefully all of my (by now many) physical books will get donated to the village library from where my mother grew up and where my parents live right now. I remember I borrowed a David Copperfield translation and never returned it, that happened about ~30 years ago. I still feel guilty about it from time to time.
on “The great junk transfer is coming” ↗From David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six , result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery
on “The Golden Rule of Personal Finance” ↗…"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." -- Charles Dickens, 'David Copperfield'
on “How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck” ↗…annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." - Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
on “Valuing time over money is associated with greater happiness” ↗