***

 

Regizorul, scenaristul şi graficianul Ion Popescu-Gopo, câştigător al unui „Palme d’Or” (1957) s-a născut la 1 mai 1923, în Bucureşti.

Ion Popescu-Gopo s-a impus, prin creațiile sale artistice, ca o mare personalitate a cinematografiei românești, câștigând, în 1957, Marele Premiu Palme d’Or la Festivalul Internațional de Film de la Cannes, Franța, cu filmul de scurt metraj Scurtă istorie. A primit titlul de Artist Emerit (anterior anului 1962).

Pseudonimul său Gopo provine de la numele de familie ale părinților săi, numele de fată al mamei sale, Gorenco, și numele tatălui, Popescu.

A debutat în presă în anul 1939, publicând caricaturi, la fel ca „pionierii” animaţiei româneşti Aurel Petrescu şi Marin Iorda. A studiat la Academia de Arte din Bucureşti, pe care nu a absolvit-o, dar a urmat la Moscova un curs de animaţie pe care l-a absolvit. S-a afirmat ca desenator, caricaturist, ilustrator de carte.

În animaţie debutează în anul 1949 alături de tatăl său şi de Matty Aslan, cu scurt-metrajul de animaţie „Punguţa cu doi bani”.

Din anul 1950 începe să lucreze la Studioul cinematografic Bucureşti, în cadrul secţiei de animaţie. Primele desene animate erau zoomorfe şi constituiau fabule educative în spiritul epocii.

Regizor, scenarist şi cineast de o factură aparte, Ion Popescu-Gopo se impune după 1950 ca principală personalitate a filmului de animaţie din România, la Studiourile Buftea şi Animafilm.

În anul 1951, Gopo produce un alt desen animat: „Răţoiul neascultător”. Urmează „Albina şi porumbelul”, apoi „Doi iepuraşi” (1952), „Marinică” (1953), „O muscă cu bani” (1954), „Şurubul lui Marinică” şi „Ariciul răutăcios” (1955), „Galateea” (1957) ș.a.

Personajul emblematic pentru poetica lui Gopo este Omuleţul cu floarea – Omuleţul („Scurtă istorie”, „7 arte”, „Homo sapiens”) este personajul nud şi schiţat din câteva linii, care interpretează însă atât de complet problemele lumii contemporane.

Primul său succes, Marele Premiu (Palme d’Or) la Cannes (1957) cu „Scurtă istorie”, a fost şi cel mai mare.

Iată cum a apreciat la vremea respectivă Georges Sadoul inovaţia lui Gopo:

„Filmul său acumulează în zece minute idei poetice, într-o povestire umoristică plină de ritm şi imaginaţie. Este foarte important că filmul său nu datorează cu rigurozitate nimic nici lui Disney, nici lui Grimault, nici şcolii cehoslovace, nici celei sovietice. Acest filmuleţ a fost la Cannes o descoperire care trebuia semnalată prin strălucirea unui mare premiu”.

Peste ani, Gopo spunea:

„Am făcut un omuleţ cu mare economie de linii. Ochii lui sunt două puncte, nu şi-i poate da peste cap şi nici nu se uită galeş. Mi-am redus de bunăvoie posibilităţile. Gura lui este aproape imobilă. Nu am folosit nici expresia feţei. Subiectul însă a căpătat forţă”.

Palmaresul acestei pelicule, dar şi al altora de animaţie, a fost de peste 50 de premii pe diferite meridiane ale lumii.

La mijlocul anilor ’60, Gopo a creat filmul-pilulă. Câteva exemple de parabole condensate care ilustrează genul sunt: „Balanţa”, „Ploaia”, „Ulciorul”.

Din 1956 abordează, ca scenarist, regizor şi, ocazional, interpret sau compozitor, filmul de ficţiune cu actori: „Fetiţa mincinoasă”, debut premiat la Damasc în 1956, „S-a furat o bombă” (1961), „De-aş fi… Harap-alb” (1965), premiat la Mamaia şi la Moscova în 1965, „Povestea dragostei” (1976), „Maria, Mirabela” (1981), film inspirat din povestea „Fata babei şi fata moşneagului” a lui Ion Creangă, „Maria şi Mirabela în Tranzistoria” (1988), în ultimele două artistul apare ca interpret al personajului Moş Timp.

„Când am început să lucrez cu actorii, mi-am descoperit parcă nişte independenţe în mişcare, m-am simţit ca un dinozaur cu membre lungi şi neascultătoare”, mărturisea Ion Popescu-Gopo

Basmele ecranizate de Ion Popescu-Gopo nu sunt simple ecranizări fidele, ci sunt actualizate şi interpretate. Spre exemplu, „Maria, Mirabela” nu e o simplă lectură a basmului „ Fata babei şi fata moşneagului”, ci un musical; în „Rămăşagul” (1985) zâna se deplasează pe bicicletă.

Pe lângă activitatea sa de scenarist şi regizor, Gopo a şi interpretat câteva roluri în filmele proprii: „Faust XX”, „Galax”, „Rămăşagul”, „O zi la Bucureşti”, dar şi în filme ale altor regizori: „O noapte de pomină” (1939, regia Ion Şahighian) sau „Dimitrie Cantemir” (1973, regia Gheorghe Vitanidis), unde l-a interpretat pe ţarul Petru cel Mare.

În anii 1980, Ion Popescu-Gopo experimentează noi tehnici de animaţie: mişcarea acelor de gămălie („Şi totuşi se mişcă”, 1980), a firelor de tutun („Animagic film”, 1981), animarea obiectelor, statuetelor, părului („Tu”, 1983).

A fost preşedinte al Asociaţiei Cineaştilor din România (1968-1989), iar în perioada 1969-1972 a fost vicepreşedinte al Asociaţiei Internaţionale a Filmului de Animaţie şi director al secţiei de film şi televiziune din cadrul Organizaţiei Mondiale a Sănătăţii.

A fost ales membru de onoare al Uniunii Autorilor şi Realizatorilor de Film.

A murit la 29 noiembrie 1989, la Bucureşti, în urma unui atac de cord.

***

 

.

   Cea mai veche bibliotecă 

            din România se află la Iași.

Palatul Fundațiunii Universitare „Regele Ferdinand I”, cunoscut azi ca Biblioteca Centrală Universitară „Mihai Eminescu” din Iași, este o clădire monumentală din Iași situată în Piața Mihai Eminescu, pe bulevardul Carol I colț cu strada Păcurari. Clădirea a fost construită în stil neoclasic între anii 1930-1934 pentru a adăposti sediul Fundațiunii Universitare „Regele Ferdinand I” și biblioteca acesteia. După al Doilea Război Mondial clădirea a fost naționalizată, în ea mutându-se Biblioteca Universității. Prin reunirea fondurilor celor două biblioteci a fost creată Biblioteca Centrală Universitară „Mihai Eminescu”.

  Edificiul a fost construit în anii `30 și este impresionant prin arhitectură. Interiorul este lucrat în marmură de Carrara şi mozaic veneţian, iar exteriorul conține elemente în stil ionic.

Acest palat este prin el însuși atractiv pentru că este realizat prin frumosul și nobilul gest al Majestății sale, regele Ferdinand, printr-un decret semnat în 27 februarie 1927, cu câteva luni înainte de a muri regele, a declarat Gelu Teodorescu, director BCU Iași.

Printre cele mai importante încăperi ce pot fi vizitate sunt aula, renumită pentru acustica deosebită și sala Hașdeu. Însă, la cerere, puteți vizita și depozitele cu numeroasele comori literare ascunse, dar nu numai.

„A fost mai mult decât o bibliotecă. Este un palat al culturii. De pildă, în aula bibliotecii, unde avem permanent o stagiune camerală și multe evenimente științifice care se derulează aici,cu o acustică extraordinară, știți că se numește și Micul Ateneu pentru acustica deosebită. Compar cu Ateneul de la București”, a spus Gelu Teodorescu, director BCU Iași.

La Biblioteca din Iași puteți alege documente, dintr-un fond de peste două milioane de cărți sau manuscrise rare. Jurnale, scrisori, reviste sau cărți vechi, toate sunt păstrate ca niște adevărate comori pe rafturile celei mai vechi instituții de acest gen din țară.

„O asemenea bibliotecă reprezintă secretul instruirii multora, mai ales din domeniul umanistic, celor care au avut rezultate foarte bune, beneficiind de înțelepciunea păstrată în rafturile acestei biblioteci”, a precizat istoricul Sorin Iftimi.

Unul din cele mai importante obiecte păstrate aici este „Evanghelia cu învățătura de Coresi”, tiparită în 1581, una dintre cele mai vechi cărţi tipărite pe aceste meleaguri. Chiar dacă mai noi, la fel de preţioase sunt şi documentele legate de Mihai Eminescu, din perioada în care a fost bibliotecar la Iași.

„Din vremea trecerii lui pe la bibliotecă, prima perioadă directorat și a doua perioadă 1884 - 1886 când a fost sub-bibliotecar la BCU Iași, datează în fondul de arhivă internă, datează rapoarte, articole, mărturii, din timpul trecerii poetului pe la bibliotecă”, a declarat Lăcrămioara Chihaia, coordonator secții speciale BCU Iaşi.

•••

Înglobând fonduri care au făcut parte din fostele biblioteci ale Academiilor domnești (cea mai veche, Academia Vasiliană, de la 1640, înființată la Mănăstirea Trei Ierarhi), actuala Bibliotecă Centrală Universitară „Mihai Eminescu” din Iași se bucură de continuitate și stabilitate începând cu anul 1835, ca Bibliotecă a Academiei Mihăilene, schimbându-și în timp doar denumirea: Biblioteca Universității din Iași, Biblioteca „Ulpia”, Biblioteca Centrală.

A funcționat, între 1835-1860, în clădirea Academiei Mihăilene, în Universitatea veche (actuala Universitate de Medicină și Farmacie), până în 1897, apoi în Universitatea nouă (actualmente Biblioteca și corpul A al Universității Tehnice „Gh. Asachi”), pentru ca după al doilea război mondial să se mute în clădirea Fundațiunii Universitare „Regele Ferdinand I”, a cărei bibliotecă o înglobează.

***

 

ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES 

ARABIAN NIGHTS FAIRY TALES 

In a town in Persia there dwelt two brothers, one named Cassim, the other Ali Baba. Cassim was married to a rich wife and lived in plenty, while Ali Baba had to maintain his wife and children by cutting wood in a neighboring forest and selling it in the town.

One day, when Ali Baba was in the forest, he saw a troop of men on horseback, coming toward him in a cloud of dust. He was afraid they were robbers, and climbed into a tree for safety. When they came up to him and dismounted, he counted forty of them. They unbridled their horses and tied them to trees.

The finest man among them, whom Ali Baba took to be their captain, went a little way among some bushes, and said, "Open, Sesame!" so plainly that Ali Baba heard him.

A door opened in the rocks, and having made the troop go in, he followed them, and the door shut again of itself. They stayed some time inside, and Ali Baba, fearing they might come out and catch him, was forced to sit patiently in the tree. At last the door opened again, and the Forty Thieves came out. As the Captain went in last he came out first, and made them all pass by him; he then closed the door, saying, "Shut, Sesame!"

Every man bridled his horse and mounted, the Captain put himself at their head, and they returned as they came.

Then Ali Baba climbed down and went to the door concealed among the bushes, and said, "Open, Sesame!" and it flew open.

Ali Baba, who expected a dull, dismal place, was greatly surprised to find it large and well lighted, hollowed by the hand of man in the form of a vault, which received the light from an opening in the ceiling. He saw rich bales of merchandise -- silk, stuff-brocades, all piled together, and gold and silver in heaps, and money in leather purses. He went in and the door shut behind him. He did not look at the silver, but brought out as many bags of gold as he thought his asses, which were browsing outside, could carry, loaded them with the bags, and hid it all with fagots.

Using the words, "Shut, Sesame!" he closed the door and went home.

Then he drove his asses into the yard, shut the gates, carried the money-bags to his wife, and emptied them out before her. He bade her keep the secret, and he would go and bury the gold.

"Let me first measure it," said his wife. "I will go borrow a measure of someone, while you dig the hole."

So she ran to the wife of Cassim and borrowed a measure. Knowing Ali Baba's poverty, the sister was curious to find out what sort of grain his wife wished to measure, and artfully put some suet at the bottom of the measure. Ali Baba's wife went home and set the measure on the heap of gold, and filled it and emptied it often, to her great content. She then carried it back to her sister, without noticing that a piece of gold was sticking to it, which Cassim's wife perceived directly her back was turned.

She grew very curious, and said to Cassim when he came home, "Cassim, your brother is richer than you. He does not count his money, he measures it."

He begged her to explain this riddle, which she did by showing him the piece of money and telling him where she found it. Then Cassim grew so envious that he could not sleep, and went to his brother in the morning before sunrise. "Ali Baba," he said, showing him the gold piece, "you pretend to be poor and yet you measure gold."

By this Ali Baba perceived that through his wife's folly Cassim and his wife knew their secret, so he confessed all and offered Cassim a share.

"That I expect," said Cassim; "but I must know where to find the treasure, otherwise I will discover all, and you will lose all."

Ali Baba, more out of kindness than fear, told him of the cave, and the very words to use. Cassim left Ali Baba, meaning to be beforehand with him and get the treasure for himself. He rose early next morning, and set out with ten mules loaded with great chests. He soon found the place, and the door in the rock.

He said, "Open, Sesame!" and the door opened and shut behind him. He could have feasted his eyes all day on the treasures, but he now hastened to gather together as much of it as possible; but when he was ready to go he could not remember what to say for thinking of his great riches. Instead of "Sesame," he said, "Open, Barley!" and the door remained fast. He named several different sorts of grain, all but the right one, and the door still stuck fast. He was so frightened at the danger he was in that he had as much forgotten the word as if he had never heard it.

About noon the robbers returned to their cave, and saw Cassim's mules roving about with great chests on their backs. This gave them the alarm; they drew their sabers, and went to the door, which opened on their Captain's saying, "Open, Sesame!"

Cassim, who had heard the trampling of their horses' feet, resolved to sell his life dearly, so when the door opened he leaped out and threw the Captain down. In vain, however, for the robbers with their sabers soon killed him. On entering the cave they saw all the bags laid ready, and could not imagine how anyone had got in without knowing their secret. They cut Cassim's body into four quarters, and nailed them up inside the cave, in order to frighten anyone who should venture in, and went away in search of more treasure.

As night drew on Cassim's wife grew very uneasy, and ran to her brother-in-law, and told him where her husband had gone. Ali Baba did his best to comfort her, and set out to the forest in search of Cassim. The first thing he saw on entering the cave was his dead brother. Full of horror, he put the body on one of his asses, and bags of gold on the other two, and, covering all with some fagots, returned home. He drove the two asses laden with gold into his own yard, and led the other to Cassim's house.

The door was opened by the slave Morgiana, whom he knew to be both brave and cunning. Unloading the ass, he said to her, "This is the body of your master, who has been murdered, but whom we must bury as though he had died in his bed. I will speak with you again, but now tell your mistress I am come."

The wife of Cassim, on learning the fate of her husband, broke out into cries and tears, but Ali Baba offered to take her to live with him and his wife if she would promise to keep his counsel and leave everything to Morgiana; whereupon she agreed, and dried her eyes.

Morgiana, meanwhile, sought an apothecary and asked him for some lozenges. "My poor master," she said, "can neither eat nor speak, and no one knows what his distemper is." She carried home the lozenges and returned next day weeping, and asked for an essence only given to those just about to die.

Thus, in the evening, no one was surprised to hear the wretched shrieks and cries of Cassim's wife and Morgiana, telling everyone that Cassim was dead.

The day after Morgiana went to an old cobbler near the gates of the town who opened his stall early, put a piece of gold in his hand, and bade him follow her with his needle and thread. Having bound his eyes with a handkerchief, she took him to the room where the body lay, pulled off the bandage, and bade him sew the quarters together, after which she covered his eyes again and led him home. Then they buried Cassim, and Morgiana his slave followed him to the grave, weeping and tearing her hair, while Cassim's wife stayed at home uttering lamentable cries. Next day she went to live with Ali Baba, who gave Cassim's shop to his eldest son.

The Forty Thieves, on their return to the cave, were much astonished to find Cassim's body gone and some of their money-bags.

"We are certainly discovered," said the Captain, "and shall be undone if we cannot find out who it is that knows our secret. Two men must have known it; we have killed one, we must now find the other. To this end one of you who is bold and artful must go into the city dressed as a traveler, and discover whom we have killed, and whether men talk of the strange manner of his death. If the messenger fails he must lose his life, lest we be betrayed."

One of the thieves started up and offered to do this, and after the rest had highly commended him for his bravery he disguised himself, and happened to enter the town at daybreak, just by Baba Mustapha's stall. The thief bade him good-day, saying, "Honest man, how can you possibly see to stitch at your age?"

"Old as I am," replied the cobbler, "I have very good eyes, and will you believe me when I tell you that I sewed a dead body together in a place where I had less light than I have now."

The robber was overjoyed at his good fortune, and, giving him a piece of gold, desired to be shown the house where he stitched up the dead body. At first Mustapha refused, saying that he had been blindfolded; but when the robber gave him another piece of gold he began to think he might remember the turnings if blindfolded as before. This means succeeded; the robber partly led him, and was partly guided by him, right in front of Cassim's house, the door of which the robber marked with a piece of chalk. Then, well pleased, he bade farewell to Baba Mustapha and returned to the forest. By and by Morgiana, going out, saw the mark the robber had made, quickly guessed that some mischief was brewing, and fetching a piece of chalk marked two or three doors on each side, without saying anything to her master or mistress.

The thief, meantime, told his comrades of his discovery. The Captain thanked him, and bade him show him the house he had marked. But when they came to it they saw that five or six of the houses were chalked in the same manner. The guide was so confounded that he knew not what answer to make, and when they returned he was at once beheaded for having failed.

Another robber was dispatched, and, having won over Baba Mustapha, marked the house in red chalk; but Morgiana being again too clever for them, the second messenger was put to death also.

The Captain now resolved to go himself, but, wiser than the others, he did not mark the house, but looked at it so closely that he could not fail to remember it. He returned, and ordered his men to go into the neighboring villages and buy nineteen mules, and thirty-eight leather jars, all empty except one, which was full of oil. The Captain put one of his men, fully armed, into each, rubbing the outside of the jars with oil from the full vessel. Then the nineteen mules were loaded with thirty-seven robbers in jars, and the jar of oil, and reached the town by dusk.

The Captain stopped his mules in front of Ali Baba's house, and said to Ali Baba, who was sitting outside for coolness, "I have brought some oil from a distance to sell at tomorrow's market, but it is now so late that I know not where to pass the night, unless you will do me the favor to take me in."

Though Ali Baba had seen the Captain of the robbers in the forest, he did not recognize him in the disguise of an oil merchant. He bade him welcome, opened his gates for the mules to enter, and went to Morgiana to bid her prepare a bed and supper for his guest. He brought the stranger into his hall, and after they had supped went again to speak to Morgiana in the kitchen, while the Captain went into the yard under pretense of seeing after his mules, but really to tell his men what to do.

Beginning at the first jar and ending at the last, he said to each man, "As soon as I throw some stones from the window of the chamber where I lie, cut the jars open with your knives and come out, and I will be with you in a trice."

He returned to the house, and Morgiana led him to his chamber. She then told Abdallah, her fellow slave, to set on the pot to make some broth for her master, who had gone to bed. Meanwhile her lamp went out, and she had no more oil in the house.

"Do not be uneasy," said Abdallah; "go into the yard and take some out of one of those jars."

Morgiana thanked him for his advice, took the oil pot, and went into the yard. When she came to the first jar the robber inside said softly, "Is it time?"

Any other slave but Morgiana, on finding a man in the jar instead of the oil she wanted, would have screamed and made a noise; but she, knowing the danger her master was in, bethought herself of a plan, and answered quietly, "Not yet, but presently."

She went to all the jars, giving the same answer, till she came to the jar of oil. She now saw that her master, thinking to entertain an oil merchant, had let thirty-eight robbers into his house. She filled her oil pot, went back to the kitchen, and, having lit her lamp, went again to the oil jar and filled a large kettle full of oil. When it boiled she went and poured enough oil into every jar to stifle and kill the robber inside. When this brave deed was done she went back to the kitchen, put out the fire and the lamp, and waited to see what would happen.

In a quarter of an hour the Captain of the robbers awoke, got up, and opened the window. As all seemed quiet, he threw down some little pebbles which hit the jars. He listened, and as none of his men seemed to stir he grew uneasy, and went down into the yard. On going to the first jar and saying, "Are you asleep?" he smelt the hot boiled oil, and knew at once that his plot to murder Ali Baba and his household had been discovered. He found all the gang was dead, and, missing the oil out of the last jar, became aware of the manner of their death. He then forced the lock of a door leading into a garden, and climbing over several walls made his escape. Morgiana heard and saw all this, and, rejoicing at her success, went to bed and fell asleep.

At daybreak Ali Baba arose, and, seeing the oil jars still there, asked why the merchant had not gone with his mules. Morgiana bade him look in the first jar and see if there was any oil. Seeing a man, he started back in terror. "Have no fear," said Morgiana; "the man cannot harm you; he is dead."

Ali Baba, when he had recovered somewhat from his astonishment, asked what had become of the merchant.

"Merchant!" said she, "he is no more a merchant than I am!" and she told him the whole story, assuring him that it was a plot of the robbers of the forest, of whom only three were left, and that the white and red chalk marks had something to do with it. Ali Baba at once gave Morgiana her freedom, saying that he owed her his life. They then buried the bodies in Ali Baba's garden, while the mules were sold in the market by his slaves.

The Captain returned to his lonely cave, which seemed frightful to him without his lost companions, and firmly resolved to avenge them by killing Ali Baba. He dressed himself carefully, and went into the town, where he took lodgings in an inn. In the course of a great many journeys to the forest he carried away many rich stuffs and much fine linen, and set up a shop opposite that of Ali Baba's son. He called himself Cogia Hassan, and as he was both civil and well dressed he soon made friends with Ali Baba's son, and through him with Ali Baba, whom he was continually asking to sup with him.

Ali Baba, wishing to return his kindness, invited him into his house and received him smiling, thanking him for his kindness to his son.

When the merchant was about to take his leave Ali Baba stopped him, saying, "Where are you going, sir, in such haste? Will you not stay and sup with me?"

The merchant refused, saying that he had a reason; and, on Ali Baba's asking him what that was, he replied, "It is, sir, that I can eat no victuals that have any salt in them."

"If that is all," said Ali Baba, "let me tell you that there shall be no salt in either the meat or the bread that we eat to-night."

He went to give this order to Morgiana, who was much surprised.

"Who is this man," she said, "who eats no salt with his meat?"

"He is an honest man, Morgiana," returned her master; "therefore do as I bid you."

But she could not withstand a desire to see this strange man, so she helped Abdallah to carry up the dishes, and saw in a moment that Cogia Hassan was the robber Captain, and carried a dagger under his garment.

"I am not surprised," she said to herself, "that this wicked man, who intends to kill my master, will eat no salt with him; but I will hinder his plans."

She sent up the supper by Abdallah, while she made ready for one of the boldest acts that could be thought on. When the dessert had been served, Cogia Hassan was left alone with Ali Baba and his son, whom he thought to make drunk and then to murder them. Morgiana, meanwhile, put on a headdress like a dancing-girl's, and clasped a girdle round her waist, from which hung a dagger with a silver hilt, and said to Abdallah, "Take your tabor, and let us go and divert our master and his guest."

Abdallah took his tabor and played before Morgiana until they came to the door, where Abdallah stopped playing and Morgiana made a low courtesy.

"Come in, Morgiana," said Ali Baba, "and let Cogia Hassan see what you can do"; and, turning to Cogia Hassan, he said, "She's my slave and my housekeeper."

Cogia Hassan was by no means pleased, for he feared that his chance of killing Ali Baba was gone for the present; but he pretended great eagerness to see Morgiana, and Abdallah began to play and Morgiana to dance. After she had performed several dances she drew her dagger and made passes with it, sometimes pointing it at her own breast, sometimes at her master's, as if it were part of the dance. Suddenly, out of breath, she snatched the tabor from Abdallah with her left hand, and, holding the dagger in her right hand, held out the tabor to her master. Ali Baba and his son put a piece of gold into it, and Cogia Hassan, seeing that she was coming to him, pulled out his purse to make her a present, but while he was putting his hand into it Morgiana plunged the dagger into his heart.

"Unhappy girl!" cried Ali Baba and his son, "what have you done to ruin us?"

"It was to preserve you, master, not to ruin you," answered Morgiana. "See here," opening the false merchant's garment and showing the dagger; "see what an enemy you have entertained! Remember, he would eat no salt with you, and what more would you have? Look at him! he is both the false oil merchant and the Captain of the Forty Thieves."

Ali Baba was so grateful to Morgiana for thus saving his life that he offered her to his son in marriage, who readily consented, and a few days after the wedding was celebrated with greatest splendor.

At the end of a year Ali Baba, hearing nothing of the two remaining robbers, judged they were dead, and set out to the cave. The door opened on his saying, "Open Sesame!" He went in, and saw that nobody had been there since the Captain left it. He brought away as much gold as he could carry, and returned to town. He told his son the secret of the cave, which his son handed down in his turn, so the children and grandchildren of Ali Baba were rich to the end of their lives.

***

 

TYPES OF NOVEL:

Realistic Novel:

A fictional attempt to give the effect of realism. This sort of novel is sometimes called a novel of manner. A realistic novel can be characterized by its complex characters with mixed motives that are rooted in social class and operate according to highly developed social structure. The characters in realistic novel interact with other characters and undergo plausible and everyday experiences.

Examples: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Picaresque Novel:

A picaresque novel relates the adventures of an eccentric or disreputable hero in episodic form. The genre gets its name from the Spanish word picaro, or "rogue."

Examples: Rudyard Kipling's Kim (1901), Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749),

Historical Novel:

A Historical novel is a novel set in a period earlier than that of the writing.

Examples: Thackeray's Vanity Fair, Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, George Eliot's Romola and Charles Kingsley's Westward Ho!

Epistolary Novel:

Epistolary fiction is a popular genre where the narrative is told via a series of documents. The word epistolary comes from Latin where ‘epistola’ means a letter. Letters are the most common basis for epistolary novels but diary entries are also popular

Examples: Samuel Richardson’s Pamela and Clarissa, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Bridget Jones’ Diary.

Bildungsroman:

German terms that indicates a growth. This fictional autobiography concerned with the development of the protagonist’s mind, spirit, and characters from childhood to adulthood.

Examples: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann etc.

Gothic Novel:

Gothic novel includes terror, mystery, horror, thriller, supernatural, doom, death, decay, old haunted buildings with ghosts and so on.

Examples: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, John William Polidori’s The Vampyre, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole,

Autobiographical Novel:

An autobiographical novel is a novel based on the life of the author.

Examples: Charles Dickens’ David Coppefield, Great Expectations, D. H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers, Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, Ralph Ellison ‘s Invisible Man, Maya Angelou’ s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , Virginia Wolfe’s The Light House etc.

Satirical Novel:

Satire is loosely defined as art that ridicules a specific topic in order to provoke readers into changing their opinion of it. By attacking what they see as human folly, satirists usually imply their own opinions on how the thing being attacked can be improved.

Examples: George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travel, Joseph Heller’s Catch 22, Mark Twin’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn,

Allegorical Novel:

An allegory is a story with two levels of meaning- surface meaning and symbolic meaning. The symbolic meaning of an allegory can be political or religious, historical or philosophical.

Examples: John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress , William Golding's The Lord of the Flies, Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene etc.

Regional Novel:

A religious novel is a novel that is set against the background of a particular area.

Examples: Novels of Charles Dickens George Eliot etc.

Novella:

A novella is a short, narrative, prose fiction. As a literary genre, the novella’s origin lay in the early Renaissance literary work of the Italians and the French. As the etymology suggests, novellas originally were news of town and country life worth repeating for amusement and edification.

Examples: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,

Detective Fiction:

Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—either professional or amateur—investigates a crime, often murder.

Examples: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’ A Study in Scarlet ( Sherlock Holmes), Satyajit Roy’s Sonar Kella (Feluda), G. K. Chesterton’s The Blue Cross (Father Brown), Dr. Nihar Ranjan Gupta’s Kalo Bhramar (Kiriti)

The Intellectual Novel

:

These sort of novelists attempted to explore the intellectual responses of the intelligentia to the world. Characteristically, their novel displays the clash of ideas and intellectual verification of knowledge., value and response, a diminishing faith on the cosmic significance of existence, argument and counter argument in discussion, separation of concept of love and sex, conversation without communication, and a dehumanizing effect of disillusionment in the 20th century.

Examples: Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory, The Heart of the Matter, Elizabeth Bowen’s The Hotel, The House in Paris.

Stream of Consciousness Novel or Psychological Novel:

Psychological novels are works of fiction that treat the internal life of the protagonist (or several or all characters) as much as (if not more than) the external forces that make up the plot. The phrase “Stream of Consciousness” was coined by William James in his Principles of Psychology (1890), to describe the flow of thought of the waking mind.

Examples: Virginia Wolfe’s To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dolloway, James Joyce’s Ulysses, D. H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow.

Roman á these/ Social Fiction/ Political Novel:

The genre focussed on possible development of societies, very often dominated by totalitarian governments. This type of novels must have social and political message. The term generally refers to fiction in Europe and the Soviet Union reacting to Communist rule.

Examples: George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Huxley’s Brave New World etc.

Prose Romance:

This is a novel that is often set in the historical past with a plot that emphasizes adventure and an atmosphere removed from reality. The characters in a prose romance are either sharply drawn as villains or heroes, masters or victims; while the protagonist is isolated from the society.

Examples: The Story of the Pillow by Shen Jiji, and The Governor of the Southern Tributary State by LiGongzuo.

Novel of Incident:

In a novel of incident the narrative focuses on what the protagonist will do next and how the story will turn out.

Examples: The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars etc.

Novel of Character:

A novel of character focuses on the protagonist’s motives for what he/she does and how he/she turns out.

Examples: Jane Austen’s Emma.

Roman á clef:

French term for a novel with a key, imaginary events with real people disguised as fictional characters.

Examples: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Animal Farm by George Orwell, On the Road by Jack Kerouac etc.

Dime Novel:

Dime novels were short works of fiction, usually focused on the dramatic exploits of a single heroic character. As evidenced by their name, dime novels were sold for a dime (sometimes a nickel), and featured colourful cover illustrations. They were bound in paper, making them light, portable, and somewhat ephemeral.

Example: Dime novels are, at least in spirit, the antecedent of today's mass market paperbacks, comic books, and even television shows and movies based on the dime novel genres. Buffalo Ball.

Hypertext Novel:

Hypertext fiction is a genre of electronic literature, characterized by the use of hypertext links which provide a new context for non-linearity in literature and reader interaction. The reader typically chooses links to move from one node of text to the next, and in this fashion arranges a story from a deeper pool of potential stories. Its spirit can also be seen in interactive fiction.

Examples: James Joyce's Ulysses (1922), Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves (2000), Enrique Jardiel Poncela's La Tournée de Dios (1932), Jorge Luis Borges' The Garden of Forking Paths (1941), Vladimir Nabokov's Pale Fire (1962) and Julio Cortázar's Rayuela (1963; translated as Hopscotch) etc.

Sentimental Novel:

The sentimental novel or the novel of sensibility is an 18th-century literary genre which celebrates the emotional and intellectual concepts of sentiment, sentimentalism, and sensibility.

Examples: Samuel Richardson's Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740), Oliver Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield (1766), Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy (1759–67), Sentimental Journey (1768), Henry Brooke's The Fool of Quality (1765–70), Henry Mackenzie's The Man of Feeling (1771). Continental example is Jean-Jacques Rousseau's novel Julie.

Utopian Novel:

A utopia is a community or society possessing highly desirable or perfect qualities. It is a common literary theme, especially in speculative fiction and science fiction.

Examples: Utopia by Thomas Moore, Laws (360 BC) by Plato, New Atlantis (1627) by Sir Francis Bacon, Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe, Gulliver's Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift.

Graphic Novel:

Graphic novels are, simply defined, book-length comics. Sometimes they tell a single, continuous narrative from first page to last; sometimes they are collections of shorter stories or individual comic strips. Comics are sequential visual art, usually with text, that are often told in a series of rectangular panels.1 Despite the name, not all comics are funny. Many comics and graphic novels emphasize drama, adventure, character development, striking visuals, politics, or romance over laugh-out-loud comedy.

Examples: Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, The Fantastic Four and X-Men etc.

Science Fiction (Sci-Fi):

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations.

Examples: The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, The Time Machine.

Cult or Coterie Novel:

Cult novels often come from the fringes, they often represent countercultural perspectives, they often experiment with form.

Examples: Speedboat by Renata Adler, Sddhartha by Herman Hesse,

Pulp Fiction:

Term originated from the magazines of the first half of the 20th century which were printed on cheap "pulp" paper and published fantastic, escapist fiction for the general entertainment of the mass audiences. The pulp fiction era provided a breeding ground for creative talent which would influence all forms of entertainment for decades to come. The hardboiled detective and science fiction genres were created by the freedom that the pulp fiction magazines provided.

Examples: The Spider, Doc Savage, Blood N Thunder etc.

Erotic Novel:

Erotic romance novels have romance as the main focus of the plot line, and they are characterized by strong, often explicit, sexual content.[2] The books can contain elements of any of the other romance subgenres, such as paranormal elements, chick lit, hen lit, historical fiction, etc. Erotic romance is classed as pornography .

Examples: His To Possess by Opal Carew, On Dublin Street by Samantha Young.

Roman fleuve:

A novel sequence is a set or series of novels which share common themes, characters, or settings, but where each novel has its own title and free-standing storyline, and can thus be read independently or out of sequence.

Examples: Honoré de Balzac’s Comédie humaine and Émile Zola’s Rougon-Macquart,

Anti-Novel:

An antinovel is any experimental work of fiction that avoids the familiar conventions of the novel, and instead establishes its own conventions.

Examples: Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy.

Interactive Novel:

The interactive novel is a form of interactive web fiction. In an interactive novel, the reader chooses where to go next in the novel by clicking on a piece of hyperlinked text, such as a page number, a character, or a direction.

Examples: J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series.

Fantasy Novel:

Stories involving paranormal magic and terrible monsters have existed in spoken forms before the advent of printed literature.

Examples: J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.

Adventure Novel:

Adventure fiction is a genre of fiction in which an adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, forms the main storyline.

Examples: Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.

Children’s Novel:

Children's novels are narrative fiction books written for children, distinct from collections of stories and picture books.

Examples: The Christmas Mystery, Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.

Dystopian Novel:

A dystopia is an unpleasant (typically repressive) society, often propagandized as being utopian.

Examples: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Giver by Lois Lowry etc.

Mystery Novel:

The mystery genre is a type of fiction in which a detective, or other professional, solves a crime or series of crimes. It can take the form of a novel or short story. This genre may also be called detective or crime novels.

***

 

Pickwick Papers

 by Charles Dickens

Summary

In May 1827, the Pickwick Club of London, headed by Samuel Pickwick, decides to establish a traveling society in which four members journey about England and make reports on their travels. The four members are Mr. Pickwick, a kindly retired businessman and philosopher whose thoughts never rise above the commonplace; Tracy Tupman, a ladies' man who never makes a conquest; Augustus Snodgrass, a poet who never writes a poem; and Nathaniel Winkle, a sportsman of tremendous ineptitude.

The Pickwickians meet to begin their first journey and get knocked about by an angry cabman, who thinks they are informers, while an angry crowd gathers. They are rescued by Alfred Jingle, who travels with them to Rochester. Jingle is an adventurer interested in wealthy women, and on this first trip he involves the innocent Winkle in a duel with Dr. Slammer, a hot-tempered army man.

At Chatham, the Pickwickians watch army maneuvers, get buffeted about, and meet Mr. Wardle, a country squire who invites them to his estate at Dingley Dell. After some mishaps with horses, Mr. Pickwick and his friends arrive at Mr. Wardle's Manor Farm, where they enjoy card games, flirting, storytelling, hunting, and a cricket match. Mr. Tupman falls in love with Mr. Wardle's spinster sister, Rachael; and Mr. Snodgrass falls in love with his daughter, Emily. However, Tupman is outsmarted by the vivacious, unscrupulous Jingle, who elopes with Rachael. Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Wardle pursue Jingle and Rachael to London, where, with the help of a lawyer, Mr. Perker, they buy off Jingle and save Rachael Wardle from an unhappy marriage.

In London Mr. Pickwick comes across Sam Weller, a boot cleaner and general handyman whom he takes on as a valet. Sam is a cockney man of the world: witty, intelligent, handy with his fists. When Mr. Pickwick tells his widowed landlady, Mrs. Bardell, that he has taken on a servant, she assumes from the ambiguous way he puts it that he intends to marry her. Mrs. Bardell faints in his arms just as Tupman, Snodgrass, and Winkle enter — a compromising circumstance.

Sam Weller's father, Tony, a coachman who had the misfortune to marry a widow, provides a running commentary through the novel on the dangers of matrimony. Tony's wife has taken up with a hypocritical, alcoholic evangelist and makes life miserable for her husband until her death. Both Tony Weller and Mr. Pickwick are prey for widows, because Mrs. Bardell soon starts a breach-of-promise suit against Mr. Pickwick.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pickwick and his friends go to Eatanswill to witness an election, which is both violent and nonsensical. Mr. Pickwick and Winkle stay with Mr. Pott, the editor of a partisan newspaper, and Winkle unwittingly becomes involved in Pott's domestic fights. During their visit to Eatanswill the Pickwickians are invited to a costume party given by the local literary lioness, Mrs. Leo Hunter, where several varieties of silliness are exhibited. At this party Mr. Pickwick sees Alfred Jingle, whom he pursues to a neighboring town. Jingle's servant tells Mr. Pickwick that Jingle has designs on a young lady at a boarding school, and Mr. Pickwick decides to prevent the elopement. However, this information is a ruse that leads to Mr. Pickwick's embarrassment and an attack of rheumatism. The Pickwickians assemble at Bury St. Edmunds, where Mr. Wardle is on a hunting trip, and Mr. Pickwick recovers enough to go along. There he learns that Mrs. Bardell has filed suit against him through Dodson and Fogg, a pair of rascally lawyers. So Mr. Pickwick returns to London to see about getting legal help.

In London, Mr. Pickwick learns that Jingle is in Ipswich and goes there to expose him. Because of a mix-up in bedrooms at an Ipswich Inn Mr. Pickwick is hauled before the justice, a local henpecked tyrant called Mr. Nupkins. Nupkins is visited frequently by Jingle, who is interested in the daughter. Mr. Pickwick extricates himself by proving that Jingle is an adventurer.

Eventually the Pickwickians return to the Wardle farm to celebrate Christmas and the wedding of Mr. Wardle's daughter, Isabella. Amid festivities Snodgrass continues his romance with Emily, and Winkle falls in love with Arabella Allen, a friend of Mr. Wardle's daughters.

On Valentine's Day, 1831, Mr. Pickwick is tried for breach of promise. Due to the rhetorical allegations of Serjeant Buzfuz and to the circumstantial evidence, Mr. Pickwick is found guilty and ordered to pay damages, which he refuses to do.

Since it is two months before Dodson and Fogg can have him jailed, the Pickwickians make a trip to Bath. There Winkle gets into more difficulties over a middle-aged woman and flees to Bristol, where he learns that his sweetheart, Arabella Allen, has been hidden by her brother. Sam Weller and Mr. Pickwick arrive in Bristol, where they help Winkle find Arabella in order to declare his intentions.

On returning to London, Mr. Pickwick is taken to the Fleet Prison for debtors because he will not pay damages. In prison he witnesses much misery, filth, and squalor and for a brief time he is victimized by two predatory inmates. There he finds Alfred Jingle and his servant in utter destitution and gives them some assistance. Mr. Pickwick tells Sam Weller to leave him, but Sam has himself jailed for debt to be with his kindly master. Dismayed by the misery of prison, Mr. Pickwick rents a cell by himself and comes out only in the evenings. When Mrs. Bardell is arrested and jailed because she cannot pay her lawyers, Mr. Pickwick begins to soften. Further, Winkle has married Arabella and needs Mr. Pickwick to intercede for them with her brother and his own father. Finally Mr. Pickwick decides to pay costs, which releases himself and Mrs. Bardell, and he also pays Jingle's debts.

Mr. Pickwick goes to Bristol to tell Ben Allen about Arabella's marriage, and Ben adjusts to the fact with the help of much liquor. Mr. Pickwick then goes to Birmingham to tell Winkle's father, who appears angry and disgusted by the news.

Back in London Mr. Pickwick pays Dodson and Fogg, sends Jingle and his servant to the West Indies to begin afresh, and learns that Emily Wardle is planning to elope with Snodgrass. Mr. Pickwick convinces Mr. Wardle that Snodgrass is a worthy gentleman, and the couple are married in Mr. Pickwick's newly purchased home. In the meantime Sam Weller has been courting a pretty housemaid named Mary, and under Mr. Pickwick's auspices they are married. And, though the London Pickwick Club has been dissolved, Samuel Pickwick lives to be godfather to many children.

***

 

Oliver Twist 

By Charles Dickens

SUMMARY

Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse in 1830s England. His mother, whose name no one knows, is found on the street and dies just after Oliver’s birth. Oliver spends the first nine years of his life in a badly run home for young orphans and then is transferred to a workhouse for adults. After the other boys bully Oliver into asking for more gruel at the end of a meal, Mr. Bumble, the parish beadle, offers five pounds to anyone who will take the boy away from the workhouse. Oliver narrowly escapes being apprenticed to a brutish chimney sweep and is eventually apprenticed to a local undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry. When the undertaker’s other apprentice, Noah Claypole, makes disparaging comments about Oliver’s mother, Oliver attacks him and incurs the Sowerberrys’ wrath. Desperate, Oliver runs away at dawn and travels toward London.

Outside London, Oliver, starved and exhausted, meets Jack Dawkins, a boy his own age. Jack offers him shelter in the London house of his benefactor, Fagin. It turns out that Fagin is a career criminal who trains orphan boys to pick pockets for him. After a few days of training, Oliver is sent on a pickpocketing mission with two other boys. When he sees them swipe a handkerchief from an elderly gentleman, Oliver is horrified and runs off. He is caught but narrowly escapes being convicted of the theft. Mr. Brownlow, the man whose handkerchief was stolen, takes the feverish Oliver to his home and nurses him back to health. Mr. Brownlow is struck by Oliver’s resemblance to a portrait of a young woman that hangs in his house. Oliver thrives in Mr. Brownlow’s home, but two young adults in Fagin’s gang, Bill Sikes and his lover Nancy, capture Oliver and return him to Fagin.

Fagin sends Oliver to assist Sikes in a burglary. Oliver is shot by a servant of the house and, after Sikes escapes, is taken in by the women who live there, Mrs. Maylie and her beautiful adopted niece Rose. They grow fond of Oliver, and he spends an idyllic summer with them in the countryside. But Fagin and a mysterious man named Monks are set on recapturing Oliver. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Oliver’s mother left behind a gold locket when she died. Monks obtains and destroys that locket. When the Maylies come to London, Nancy meets secretly with Rose and informs her of Fagin’s designs, but a member of Fagin’s gang overhears the conversation. When word of Nancy’s disclosure reaches Sikes, he brutally murders Nancy and flees London. Pursued by his guilty conscience and an angry mob, he inadvertently hangs himself while trying to escape.

Mr. Brownlow, with whom the Maylies have reunited Oliver, confronts Monks and wrings the truth about Oliver’s parentage from him. It is revealed that Monks is Oliver’s half brother. Their father, Mr. Leeford, was unhappily married to a wealthy woman and had an affair with Oliver’s mother, Agnes Fleming. Monks has been pursuing Oliver all along in the hopes of ensuring that his half-brother is deprived of his share of the family inheritance. Mr. Brownlow forces Monks to sign over Oliver’s share to Oliver. Moreover, it is discovered that Rose is Agnes’s younger sister, hence Oliver’s aunt. Fagin is hung for his crimes. Finally, Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver, and they and the Maylies retire to a blissful existence in the countryside.

***

 

David Copperfield

By Charles Dickens

SUMMARY

Now a grown man, David Copperfield tells the story of his youth. As a young boy, he lives happily with his mother and his nurse, Peggotty. His father died before he was born. During David’s early childhood, his mother marries the violent Mr. Murdstone, who brings his strict sister, Miss Murdstone, into the house. The Murdstones treat David cruelly, and David bites Mr. Murdstone’s hand during one beating. The Murdstones send David away to school.

Peggotty takes David to visit her family in Yarmouth, where David meets Peggotty’s brother, Mr. Peggotty, and his two adopted children, Ham and Little Em’ly. Mr. Peggotty’s family lives in a boat turned upside down—a space they share with Mrs. Gummidge, the widowed wife of Mr. Peggotty’s brother. After this visit, David attends school at Salem House, which is run by a man named Mr. Creakle. David befriends and idolizes an egotistical young man named James Steerforth. David also befriends Tommy Traddles, an unfortunate, fat young boy who is beaten more than the others.

David’s mother dies, and David returns home, where the Murdstones neglect him. He works at Mr. Murdstone’s wine-bottling business and moves in with Mr. Micawber, who mismanages his finances. When Mr. Micawber leaves London to escape his creditors, David decides to search for his father’s sister, Miss Betsey Trotwood—his only living relative. He walks a long distance to Miss Betsey’s home, and she takes him in on the advice of her mentally unstable friend, Mr. Dick.

Miss Betsey sends David to a school run by a man named Doctor Strong. David moves in with Mr. Wickfield and his daughter, Agnes, while he attends school. Agnes and David become best friends. Among Wickfield’s boarders is Uriah Heep, a snakelike young man who often involves himself in matters that are none of his business. David graduates and goes to Yarmouth to visit Peggotty, who is now married to Mr. Barkis, the carrier. David reflects on what profession he should pursue.

On his way to Yarmouth, David encounters James Steerforth, and they take a detour to visit Steerforth’s mother. They arrive in Yarmouth, where Steerforth and the Peggottys become fond of one another. When they return from Yarmouth, Miss Betsey persuades David to pursue a career as a proctor, a kind of lawyer. David apprentices himself at the London firm of Spenlow and Jorkins and takes up lodgings with a woman named Mrs. Crupp. Mr. Spenlow invites David to his house for a weekend. There, David meets Spenlow’s daughter, Dora, and quickly falls in love with her.

Summary

Previous

Next

Now a grown man, David Copperfield tells the story of his youth. As a young boy, he lives happily with his mother and his nurse, Peggotty. His father died before he was born. During David’s early childhood, his mother marries the violent Mr. Murdstone, who brings his strict sister, Miss Murdstone, into the house. The Murdstones treat David cruelly, and David bites Mr. Murdstone’s hand during one beating. The Murdstones send David away to school.

Peggotty takes David to visit her family in Yarmouth, where David meets Peggotty’s brother, Mr. Peggotty, and his two adopted children, Ham and Little Em’ly. Mr. Peggotty’s family lives in a boat turned upside down—a space they share with Mrs. Gummidge, the widowed wife of Mr. Peggotty’s brother. After this visit, David attends school at Salem House, which is run by a man named Mr. Creakle. David befriends and idolizes an egotistical young man named James Steerforth. David also befriends Tommy Traddles, an unfortunate, fat young boy who is beaten more than the others.

David’s mother dies, and David returns home, where the Murdstones neglect him. He works at Mr. Murdstone’s wine-bottling business and moves in with Mr. Micawber, who mismanages his finances. When Mr. Micawber leaves London to escape his creditors, David decides to search for his father’s sister, Miss Betsey Trotwood—his only living relative. He walks a long distance to Miss Betsey’s home, and she takes him in on the advice of her mentally unstable friend, Mr. Dick.

Miss Betsey sends David to a school run by a man named Doctor Strong. David moves in with Mr. Wickfield and his daughter, Agnes, while he attends school. Agnes and David become best friends. Among Wickfield’s boarders is Uriah Heep, a snakelike young man who often involves himself in matters that are none of his business. David graduates and goes to Yarmouth to visit Peggotty, who is now married to Mr. Barkis, the carrier. David reflects on what profession he should pursue.

On his way to Yarmouth, David encounters James Steerforth, and they take a detour to visit Steerforth’s mother. They arrive in Yarmouth, where Steerforth and the Peggottys become fond of one another. When they return from Yarmouth, Miss Betsey persuades David to pursue a career as a proctor, a kind of lawyer. David apprentices himself at the London firm of Spenlow and Jorkins and takes up lodgings with a woman named Mrs. Crupp. Mr. Spenlow invites David to his house for a weekend. There, David meets Spenlow’s daughter, Dora, and quickly falls in love with her.

In London, David is reunited with Tommy Traddles and Mr. Micawber. Word reaches David, through Steerforth, that Mr. Barkis is terminally ill. David journeys to Yarmouth to visit Peggotty in her hour of need. Little Em’ly and Ham, now engaged, are to be married upon Mr. Barkis’s death. David, however, finds Little Em’ly upset over her impending marriage. When Mr. Barkis dies, Little Em’ly runs off with Steerforth, who she believes will make her a lady. Mr. Peggotty is devastated but vows to find Little Em’ly and bring her home.

Miss Betsey visits London to inform David that her financial security has been ruined because Mr. Wickfield has joined into a partnership with Uriah Heep. David, who has become increasingly infatuated with Dora, vows to work as hard as he can to make their life together possible. Mr. Spenlow, however, forbids Dora from marrying David. Mr. Spenlow dies in a carriage accident that night, and Dora goes to live with her two aunts. Meanwhile, Uriah Heep informs Doctor Strong that he suspects Doctor Strong’s wife, Annie, of having an affair with her young cousin, Jack Maldon.

David Copperfield Full Book Summary

David Copperfield Full Book Summary

Previous

Next

Now a grown man, David Copperfield tells the story of his youth. As a young boy, he lives happily with his mother and his nurse, Peggotty. His father died before he was born. During David’s early childhood, his mother marries the violent Mr. Murdstone, who brings his strict sister, Miss Murdstone, into the house. The Murdstones treat David cruelly, and David bites Mr. Murdstone’s hand during one beating. The Murdstones send David away to school.

Peggotty takes David to visit her family in Yarmouth, where David meets Peggotty’s brother, Mr. Peggotty, and his two adopted children, Ham and Little Em’ly. Mr. Peggotty’s family lives in a boat turned upside down—a space they share with Mrs. Gummidge, the widowed wife of Mr. Peggotty’s brother. After this visit, David attends school at Salem House, which is run by a man named Mr. Creakle. David befriends and idolizes an egotistical young man named James Steerforth. David also befriends Tommy Traddles, an unfortunate, fat young boy who is beaten more than the others.

David’s mother dies, and David returns home, where the Murdstones neglect him. He works at Mr. Murdstone’s wine-bottling business and moves in with Mr. Micawber, who mismanages his finances. When Mr. Micawber leaves London to escape his creditors, David decides to search for his father’s sister, Miss Betsey Trotwood—his only living relative. He walks a long distance to Miss Betsey’s home, and she takes him in on the advice of her mentally unstable friend, Mr. Dick.

Miss Betsey sends David to a school run by a man named Doctor Strong. David moves in with Mr. Wickfield and his daughter, Agnes, while he attends school. Agnes and David become best friends. Among Wickfield’s boarders is Uriah Heep, a snakelike young man who often involves himself in matters that are none of his business. David graduates and goes to Yarmouth to visit Peggotty, who is now married to Mr. Barkis, the carrier. David reflects on what profession he should pursue.

On his way to Yarmouth, David encounters James Steerforth, and they take a detour to visit Steerforth’s mother. They arrive in Yarmouth, where Steerforth and the Peggottys become fond of one another. When they return from Yarmouth, Miss Betsey persuades David to pursue a career as a proctor, a kind of lawyer. David apprentices himself at the London firm of Spenlow and Jorkins and takes up lodgings with a woman named Mrs. Crupp. Mr. Spenlow invites David to his house for a weekend. There, David meets Spenlow’s daughter, Dora, and quickly falls in love with her.

In London, David is reunited with Tommy Traddles and Mr. Micawber. Word reaches David, through Steerforth, that Mr. Barkis is terminally ill. David journeys to Yarmouth to visit Peggotty in her hour of need. Little Em’ly and Ham, now engaged, are to be married upon Mr. Barkis’s death. David, however, finds Little Em’ly upset over her impending marriage. When Mr. Barkis dies, Little Em’ly runs off with Steerforth, who she believes will make her a lady. Mr. Peggotty is devastated but vows to find Little Em’ly and bring her home.

Miss Betsey visits London to inform David that her financial security has been ruined because Mr. Wickfield has joined into a partnership with Uriah Heep. David, who has become increasingly infatuated with Dora, vows to work as hard as he can to make their life together possible. Mr. Spenlow, however, forbids Dora from marrying David. Mr. Spenlow dies in a carriage accident that night, and Dora goes to live with her two aunts. Meanwhile, Uriah Heep informs Doctor Strong that he suspects Doctor Strong’s wife, Annie, of having an affair with her young cousin, Jack Maldon.

Dora and David marry, and Dora proves a terrible housewife, incompetent in her chores. David loves her anyway and is generally happy. Mr. Dick facilitates a reconciliation between Doctor Strong and Annie, who was not, in fact, cheating on her husband. Miss Dartle, Mrs. Steerforth’s ward, summons David and informs him that Steerforth has left Little Em’ly. Miss Dartle adds that Steerforth’s servant, Littimer, has proposed to her and that Little Em’ly has run away. David and Mr. Peggotty enlist the help of Little Em’ly’s childhood friend Martha, who locates Little Em’ly and brings Mr. Peggotty to her. Little Em’ly and Mr. Peggotty decide to move to Australia, as do the Micawbers, who first save the day for Agnes and Miss Betsey by exposing Uriah Heep’s fraud against Mr. Wickfield.

A powerful storm hits Yarmouth and kills Ham while he attempts to rescue a shipwrecked sailor. The sailor turns out to be Steerforth. Meanwhile, Dora falls ill and dies. David leaves the country to travel abroad. His love for Agnes grows. When David returns, he and Agnes, who has long harbored a secret love for him, get married and have several children. David pursues his writing career with increasing commercial success.