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I Am Born

David Copperfield narrates the story of his own birth, which he did not witness but reconstructs from family accounts.

I Observe

David begins to form his earliest memories. He describes his mother as young and beautiful, Peggotty as stout and devoted, and their small home as a warm place.

I Have a Change

David's mother marries Mr. Murdstone while David is away at Yarmouth.

I Fall into Disgrace

Murdstone begins teaching David, and the lessons become a daily ordeal of fear and failure. When David bites Murdstone's hand during a beating, he is locked in his room for days a…

I Am Sent Away from Home

David is taken to Salem House, a grim boarding school run by the brutal Mr. Creakle.

I Enlarge My Circle of Acquaintance

David arrives at Salem House school before term starts and meets the older boy Steerforth, who quickly takes David under his wing.

My 'First Half' at Salem House

David settles into school life and forms friendships, especially with Tommy Traddles, a good-natured boy who is constantly punished but never bitter about it.

My Holidays. Especially One Happy Afternoon

David returns home for the holidays and finds his mother has had a baby with Murdstone. The household feels tense and cold under the Murdstones' control.

I Have a Memorable Birthday

On David's birthday, he is called home from school and learns that his mother has died, along with the infant brother.

I Become Neglected, and Am Provided For

After his mother's death, David is left idle at Blunderstone with no schooling and no plan. The Murdstones ignore him.

I Begin Life on My Own Account, and Don't Like It

David is sent to work at Murdstone and Grinby's warehouse in London, pasting labels on wine bottles alongside rough working-class boys.

Liking Life on My Own Account No Better, I Form a Great Resolution

David continues at the warehouse and watches the Micawber family collapse under debt. Mr.

The Sequel of My Resolution

David sets out on foot from London to Dover to find Aunt Betsey. The journey is brutal.

My Aunt Makes Up Her Mind About Me

Betsey Trotwood takes David in after consulting her lodger, the gentle and mentally unstable Mr. Dick.

I Make Another Beginning

Betsey arranges for David to attend a good school in Canterbury. On the way, they stop at the office of her lawyer, Mr.

I Am a New Boy in More Senses Than One

David arrives at Dr. Strong's school in Canterbury and begins adjusting to a completely different kind of school life from Salem House.

Somebody Turns Up

Mr. Micawber reappears in Canterbury, which surprises David.

A Retrospect

This chapter is one of Dickens's 'Retrospect' chapters, written in a compressed, impressionistic style that skips over several years of David's life at Dr.

I Look About Me, and Make a Discovery

David leaves school and spends time figuring out what to do with his life. He visits his aunt Betsey in Dover and they discuss his future.

Steerforth's Home

David visits Steerforth at his mother's house in Highgate and meets Mrs. Steerforth and her companion Rosa Dartle.

Little Em'ly

David visits Yarmouth with Steerforth, and the trip stirs up old memories and new dangers. Em'ly is now engaged to Ham, but Steerforth's charm and attention to her sets off quiet…

Some Old Scenes, and Some New People

David and Steerforth spend more time in Yarmouth, and David reconnects with old faces while Steerforth continues to ingratiate himself with the community.

I Corroborate Mr. Dick, and Choose a Profession

Back in Canterbury, David confirms Mr. Dick's suspicions about Miss Murdstone's presence in the Wickfield household and her influence over Agnes.

My First Dissipation

David arrives in London, gets settled, and quickly falls into a night of heavy drinking with Steerforth and other young men.

Good and Bad Angels

David reflects on the contrast between Agnes and Steerforth as influences in his life, naming Agnes his good angel and Steerforth his bad one.

I Fall into Captivity

David meets Dora Spenlow at her father's house and is immediately and completely smitten. He can barely function around her, spending the visit in a daze.

Tommy Traddles

David reconnects with his old schoolmate Tommy Traddles, now living in cramped London lodgings and engaged to a woman named Sophy.

Mr. Micawber's Gauntlet

Micawber is in serious financial trouble again, and the stress of it plays out in his household. David witnesses the Micawbers' cycle of despair and recovery up close.

I Visit Steerforth at His Home, Again

David visits Steerforth's mother and Rosa Dartle again. The visit is uneasy.

A Loss

The fallout from Emily's elopement hits the Yarmouth community hard. Mr.

A Greater Loss

David learns that his beloved childhood friend and first love, Emily, has run off with Steerforth, devastating her uncle Mr.

The Beginning of a Long Journey

Mr. Peggotty sets out on his search for Emily, and David watches the older man leave with a mixture of admiration and sorrow.

Blissful

David becomes engaged to Dora Spenlow, and the chapter captures the giddy, slightly unreal happiness of early romantic love.

My Aunt Astonishes Me

Aunt Betsey arrives at David's lodgings with shocking news: she has lost her fortune and is now essentially penniless.

Depression

David goes through a period of real hardship. He is working long hours, managing a difficult engagement to Dora who cannot help with practical matters, and watching Betsey adjust…

Enthusiasm

David throws himself into his new life as a writer and into his courtship of Dora Spenlow. He is deeply infatuated, almost to the point of losing his head entirely.

A Little Cold Water

David's enthusiasm about Dora gets tempered by the people around him. Aunt Betsey and Agnes both, in their different ways, suggest that David may be getting carried away.

A Dissolution of Partnership

Mr. Spenlow dies suddenly, and the partnership at Doctors' Commons is dissolved.

Wickfield and Heep

David visits Canterbury and sees firsthand how completely Uriah Heep has taken over Wickfield's firm and personal life.

The Wanderer

Emily has run away with Steerforth, and the fallout hits Yarmouth hard. Mr.

Dora's Aunts

David visits Dora's two aunts, Miss Lavinia and Miss Clarissa Spenlow, to ask formal permission to court Dora. The aunts are eccentric but ultimately sympathetic.

Mischief

Uriah Heep's scheming comes to a head when he uses his hold over Mr. Wickfield to push for a formal partnership in the firm.

Another Retrospect

This is one of Dickens's 'Retrospect' chapters, written in a compressed, impressionistic style that skips over time rather than narrating it scene by scene.

Our Housekeeping

David and Dora are married and set up their first home together. The chapter is partly comic and partly painful.

Mr. Dick Fulfils My Aunt's Predictions

Mr. Dick, long treated as a harmless eccentric, steps up in a surprising way.

Intelligence

David receives news that shakes up several storylines at once. Dora's health has been declining, and it becomes clear she is not going to recover.

Martha

Martha, the fallen woman who had disappeared from the story, becomes the key to finding Emily. Mr.

Domestic

This chapter returns to David's home life and the ongoing reality of his marriage to Dora. Dora is clearly weakening, and the domestic scenes here carry a quiet sadness.

I Am Involved in Mystery

David finds himself caught up in confusing and overlapping events. The mystery around Uriah Heep's schemes is building, and there are signs that Mr.

Mr. Peggotty's Dream Comes True

Emily is found. Martha leads Mr.

The Beginning of a Longer Journey

David is in a dark emotional place after Dora's death and Agnes's quiet departure. He decides to leave England and travel abroad, hoping distance will dull his grief.

I Assist at an Explosion

Micawber finally acts. After months of gathering evidence against Uriah Heep, he confronts Heep in front of a gathered group that includes David, Agnes, Mr.

Another Retrospect

This is one of Dickens's retrospect chapters, written in a compressed, reflective style that covers a stretch of time rather than dramatizing individual scenes.

Mr. Micawber's Transactions

The aftermath of Heep's exposure is sorted out. Micawber, having done his heroic work, now faces the practical question of what comes next for his family.

Tempest

One of the most famous chapters in the novel. A massive storm hits the coast near Yarmouth.

The New Wound, and the Old

David is wrecked by Dora's death. He retreats from London and eventually goes abroad, but before he leaves he has a painful conversation with Agnes that reopens old feelings he ha…

The Emigrants

The Peggotty family, along with Martha and Emily, board a ship and leave England for Australia. Mr.

Absence

David spends three years abroad, mostly in Switzerland. He writes, grieves, and slowly recovers.

Return

David comes back to England after three years away. He is calmer, older, and more self-aware.

Agnes

David tells Agnes he loves her. Agnes reveals that she has loved him for years and kept it hidden, partly out of loyalty to Dora's memory.

I Am Shown Two Interesting Penitents

David visits the model prison where Uriah Heep and Littimer are both inmates, each performing a show of religious reform that fools the prison authorities but not David.

A Light Shines on My Way

David, still grieving Agnes and living abroad, gradually realizes that his feelings for her have grown into love. He returns to England and confesses everything to her.

A Visitor

Peggotty visits David and Agnes at their home. The chapter is quieter than those around it, a domestic scene that shows David's life has settled into genuine happiness.

A Last Retrospect

The novel closes with David looking back across his life. He sees the people who shaped him, those gone and those still present.