When my thoughts go back, now, to that slow agony of my youth, I wonder how much of the histories I invented for such people hangs like a mist of fancy over well-remembered facts! When I tread the old ground, I do not wonder that I seem to see and pity, going on before me, an innocent romantic boy, making his imaginative world out of such strange experiences and sordid things.

David Copperfield is about a young man who oscillates between poverty and prosperity, and it is within these contrasts that elevates David's story from just being a narrative about coming of age - although it is an excellent one at that. Dickens depicts the frailty of class, how tenuous our grasp is on financial stability in a world that is susceptible to corruption, as well as our own naivety and error. He demonstrates this with streaks of smarting humour with characters such as Micawber, who is always clawing himself out of financial straits, and the vulnerability of Mr Wickfield. Later in Great Expectations, Dickens explores the rise of a young man from a life as a humble blacksmith to an upper middle class experience, but I personally find his treatment of David more telling when it comes to the unpredictable nature of life, and he was a far more sympathetic character than Pip was (sorry, Pip, you are quite insufferable at times).

There are a multitude of things that I love about this book. It has an iconic cast of characters from the clammy, shudder-inducing Uriah Heep, the frank yet lovable Betsey Trotwood, the uncomplicated albeit frazzled mind of the wonderful Mr Dick, and the delightful Tommy Traddles. David himself is a complex character, setting him apart from quite a few of Dickens' male protagonists. He's not angelic and hopelessly good like Oliver Twist and yet he's not a frustratingly obtuse Pip either. He's a bit of both - he has his flaws but he always acts with the best of intentions. I also really loved the female characters in this novel. They're not as strong as his later heroines such as Amy Dorrit or Esther, but Agnes, for example, is brilliant with her steadfast, loyal nature and kind heart, Betsey is, as already mentioned, a gem, and even Dora, who is sort of regarded as a bit frivolous and silly, is never spiteful or made to seem shallow beyond redemption - she has her own charm, and I liked her storyline.

This is probably my fourth favourite Dickens novel that I've read so far. I didn't love it as much as Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, or Little Dorrit...there were moments where the plot dragged for me, and this is coming from someone who usually loves Dickens' rambles. It could have been trimmed down a little but, other than that, I adored it - obviously.