CHAPTER 1. DAVID COPPERFIELD'S CHILDHOOD

David Copperfield was born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk, in the east of England. Saldly, he never met his father because he died six months before David was born. David's mother was much younger than this husband and suddenly, she found she was with a baby and without a husband.

Miss Betsey was David father's aunt and she hadn't spoken to him since he had been married because she thought it was a mistake marrying with a very young girl. But when she heard that David's mother was expecting a baby, she came to visit Blunderstone. She wanted to help Clara, David's mother, with the baby while she was sure that it was going to be a girl. Then, David was born and after that, she never came back to the house.

David's childhood was happy. His mother and Peggotty, the Copperfield's servant, were very kind with him. When he was about eight, his mother started to go out with a gentleman called Mr Murdstone. A few months later, Peggotty and David went to stay with her brother in Yarmouth a short holiday while Clara had been marrying Mr Murdstone. After the trip, Peggotty told David the real reason why Clara had done in this period of time. David was shocked and when they arrived at home, he didn't speak anything with his mother, so she got sad. But then, his stepfather told him that if he didn't obey him, he would beat him. Since this, David was very afraid of his stepfather.

A few days later, Mr Murdstone's sister arrived to help Clara in the house but finally, she stayed with them for a long time and she also took complete control of the house, keeping the keys and checking that everything was being done just as she wished.

CHAPTER 2. DAVID IS SENT AWAY TO SCHOOL

Mr Murdstone insisted on David's studying and so his mother gave him lessons. In the past, they enjoyed his studies together but now both Mr and Miss Murdstone were present during his lessons, and somehow David couldn't concentrate or remember what he had learnt.

One morning when David arrived in the sitting-room as usual for his lessons, he saw that Mr Murdstone had a thin stick in his hand. The child was very afraid of it, and all of he had learnt disappeared immediately from his mind, so he couldn't answer any of his mother's questions. Then his stepfather took him and went with him upstairs while Clara was crying and David was shouting him not to beat him! When they arrived to David's bedroom, Mr Murdstone held his arms and started hitting him with his stick. Above the noise of his screams, he could hear his mother and Peggotty crying outside the door. Next, Mr Murdstone was gone and locked the door. David was kept locked in that room five days and five nights and saw nobody except Mrs Murdstone, who brought him food but never spoke to him. But during the fifth night he heard a strange noise at the keyhole. It was Peggotty, trying to give him a message. She told him that the next day they were going to send him away to boarding school…

The next morning Miss Murdstone told David that why his wickedness he was going away to school. His mother was only allowed to say a very quick goodbye to me, when the horse and driver arrived. Then, Mr Barkis drove slowly out of Blunderstone. Peggotty gave him a purse with some money and cakes.

David stayed in his new school for three months until Christmas. There, he met some friends, like Tommy Traddles and James Steerforth. He also discovered that the headmaster of the school was a bad man, who had a stick which he hit the boys, as Mr Murstone did.

When he returned to his house at Christmas, he saw that he had a new brother and his mother was very thin and she looked ill. That was the last time he saw her…

CHAPTER 3. DAVID THE ORPHAN

Two months later, Mr Creakle's wife told David that his mother had died in their house a few hours before. Mrs Creakle packed his case herself and sent David home on the coach for the funeral.

Pergotty was waiting him in front of the house. He told him his that his mother had been ill for a long time ago and her little child died a few hours later his mother died.

The Murdstones told Peggotty to leave, because they didn't want her servant any more, so Peggotty decided to go to her brother's house in Yarmouth until she think what work to do next. She suggested taking David with her for a holiday, and to his surprise The Murdstones agreed.

A few days later, Peggotty told David that she was going to marry with Mr Barkis, but he always could go to their house when he wanted. When David returned to Blunderstone, the Murdstones told him that the school was very expensive so they arranged for him to start work. He was sent to London, to work in a warehouse near the river. His stepfather asked Mr Quinion, the manager, to find him somewhere to stay in London. He introduced David to the Micawbers. They were poor but kind with him. David stayed with them some months. He discovered that Mr Micawber didn't earn enough money to pay his creditors so he was sent to prison.

At the end, David decided to find his father's aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood, and ask her to help him.

CHAPTER 4. DAVID AND HIS AUNT

David helped The Micawbers to pack all of their things because they were going to Dover and after that, he went to the warehouse for his last day at work. In the evening, he packed his case and took the 10 shillings Peggotty had once given him. He asked a tall man with a horse and a cart if he could take his case to the coach station, and that was the last time he saw it…so he had to go to his aunt's house walking for six days. When David arrived, his aunt and his uncle were very kind with him and a few months later, they decided that David had to go to the school in Canterbury. It was far from Dover so David stayed in Mr Wickfield's house who was Miss Trotwood lawyer.

Years passed and David learnt a lot in that school, and then, the end of his schooldays came. Before deciding what profession to choose, his aunt suggested that he should spend a month in London or travelling round the country to consider his new decision.

CHAPTER 5. DAVID MEETS OLD FRIENDS AGAIN

First, David decided to go to London to stay at a hotel for a few nights and see all the sights of that city. One day he met Steerforth, a child classmate and since that, they stayed together in the capital of England and visited together Peggotty and all her family in Yarmouth.

When they returned to London, David celebrated a party in his house and after drinking some bottles of wine, he looked very drunk. They went out to the Opera and after it finished, Steerforth had to take David to his house and put on his pyjama.

Next day, David visited his friend Agnes, who was with The Wickfields and they stayed together for all day! In the afternoon, David met his aunt who told him if he would like to study to become as a lawyer. He answered that it'll be a good job and he liked it, so his aunt introduced him to Mr Spenlow, an important lawyer in the city, to teach him all the things he must know.

CHAPTER 6. DAVID FALLS IN LOVE

David met Uriah in London, who was the partner of The Wickfields and who was in love Miss Agnes. He hoped to marry her one day.

A year passed since David first started work in Mr Spenlow's firm. He often went to courts with him, and began to understand the details of some of the most difficult cases. Mr Spenlow was very kind with David and they sometimes talked about their lives and problems. One day he invited him to his house for the weekend. There, David met Dora, who was Mr Spenlow's daughter. She was very pretty, so David fell in love in a second. He also met Miss Murdstone, who was her companion. The child was very surprised to meet another time her and later, they talked about forget the past, but David told her that he could never forget what happen in the past…

In London, David stayed with Traddles who was another classmate in the past. They passed an afternoon together and David discovered that he was staying in The Micawber's house!

Steerforth told David that Mr Barkis was very ill so David decided to go to Yarmouth to visit him and to stay with Pergotty. When he arrived there, Mr Barkis died and some days later, Emily run away because she was in love with…Steerforth! Daniel, who adopted her and Ham in the past, was very sad and he decided to go out for looking her!

CHAPTER 7. GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS FOR DAVID

David was invited to Dora's birthday the following week, so he bought expensive new clothes and boots, and hired a handsome white horse. He also bought some beautiful flowers to Dora for her birthday. In the party, David met Miss Mills who was a friend of Dora. Next, David talked with Dora and kissed each other! They were engaged!

Some days after this, David stayed with his aunt in Peggotty's house, and there, he discovered that his aunt was now very poor and she and his husband were going to live with them for some days.

CHAPTER 8. DAVID'S NEW LIFE

With Agnes's encouragement David felt much stronger, and no longer depressed. He intended to work as hard as he could, to help his aunt and to earn enough money to marry Dora. Peggotty returned to Yarmouth to look after Ham, while Daniel was away. After David had taken her to the coach station and said goodbye to her, he went to Miss Mill's house and visited Dora. He told her about his problems, and now, she could work for earn much money for both of them, but then, Dora lied unconscious on the sofa. Miss Mills told him that she was above the things of this world, which poor humans had to worry about, so she wasn't going to work because she didn't understand why she had to do it!

Several months passed in this way while Dora and David wrote each other every day, and occasionally he was able to visit her at Miss Mill's house. But one morning when he arrived at the office for work, Mr Spenlow asked him to step into his office, where they could talk privately. There, he told him that Miss Murdstone had found some letters that Dora and David had written each other. Mr Spenlow told David not to marry Dora and not to go on with this way. David was very sad about these things, and the next hours he thought of poor sweet Dora. The next day, David discovered that Mr Spenlow had died last night…

CHAPTER 9. DAVID GETS MARRIED

Some months later, David and Dora got married. A new life started together but problems became soon: David worked as hard as he could while Dora didn't do anything and she didn't worry about the servant whom stole some money and broke many things.

Early one morning, while he was walking in the garden, he saw Daniel Peggotty opening the gate and coming towards him. He told David that he had found Emily and they were going to live in Australia to start a new life.

CHAPTER 10. DEATH AND DISCOVERY

Traddles and David received strange letters from Mr Micawber, in which he asked them to go to Canterbury, with David's aunt. At this meeting, he showed to all of them the proof of Uriah Heep's wickedness: he had confused and lied to his partner so often that poor Mr Wickfield thought he had himself been dishonest; he had sometimes copied Mr Wickfield's signature on to false documents and cheques; and for years he had been stealing large amounts of money from Mr Wickfields and the firm…

In the next few days, Traddles and Micawber worked very hard together to put right what Uriah had done. They gave the money back to David's aunt and The Wickfields didn't owe anything more! Uriah and his mother left Canterbury.

The Micawber family decided to go to Australia to start a new life, and there, Mr Micawber became an important figure of business.

Finally, Dora died because she was very ill and David discovered that he always had loved Agnes, and she confessed him the same thing! They got married and had some children, and became very happy. Traddles got married too and became a judge. Miss Trotwood, Mr Dick and Peggotty got older but still very fit.

VOCABULARY

Beat: golpear

Stern: severo

Sobbing: sollozando

Fond: cariñoso

Delight: placer

Firm: firme

Frowning: frunciendo

Blush: sonrojar

Ashamed: avergonzado

Sharp: afilado

Hold: sostener

Keyhole: ojo de la cerradura

Cart: carro

Willing: dispuesto

Dusty: polvoriento

Blow: golpe

Rub: frotar

Gladly: con mucho gusto

Mist: neblina

Forgetful: olvidadizo

Get rid of: deshacerse d algo

Coarse: áspero

Rough: accidentado

Owe: deber

Wage: salario

Own: poseer

Fare: tarifa

Disused: abandonado

Beggar: mendigo

Tear: rasgar

Bitterly: amargamente

Wrap: envolver

Blanket: manta

Lead: dirigir

Widow: viuda

Eager: ansioso

Wicked: perverso

Inherited: heredado

Rise: levantarse

Delight: placer

Law court: juzgado

Humble: humilde

Blacken: nombre figurado

Engaged: prometido

Cheer up: animarse

Drowned: ahogado

Share: finanzas

Wise: sabio

Fetch: recoger

Steep: empinado

Clerks: oficinistas

Proof: prueba

Bribed: sobornado

Guess: adivinar

Be unable to do something: saber hacer algo

Hopeless: desesperado, inútil

Bent: doblar, torcer

Doubt: duda

Fault: fallo

Among: entre

Scent: olor

Edge: filo

Faint: desmayarse

Search: búsqueda

Dull: gris

Grim: severo

At the bottom of: en la parte inferior de

Wishes: deseos

Wound: herida

Smooth: liso, suave

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