This Victorian Bildungsroman is about Victorian society and values ranging from accounts about upper-middle to lower class. The novel follows protagonist David Copperfield through his life and especially highlights the social issues of Victorian times. David is orphaned being quite young, visits a boarding school, and is handed from guardian to guardian. He encounters middle-class bullies and meets poverty, and is himself no stranger to child labour.

David Copperfield represents a complex and diverse novel exploring Victorian society extensively and thus provides a good inside into British history. Also, it is in the public domain.

Novel · United Kingdom · 1850