David Copperfield II cover

David Copperfield II

Rating 4.7
Word count
1M words
Chapters
104

Tags

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.David Copperfield II by Charles DickensAuthor: Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870,Language: Finnish, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 18, 2006

Editor's review

David Copperfield II is the second half of Dickens's autobiographical novel, here in a Finnish translation released by Project Gutenberg. The novel follows the protagonist's growth, and in this latter half the fates of the characters gradually become clear as the villains and benefactors of his childhood each meet their ends, the narrative holding a balance between warmth and irony. Dickens's strength here lies in his mature handling of the ensemble cast and the narrator's perspective: the voice of the adult David looking back on his past carries both self-mockery and forbearance, giving the plot an emotional weight. The Finnish translation preserves the original's chapter structure and density of dialogue, making it suitable for Finnish readers or for those studying the translation and reception of Dickens in the Nordic countries. Because it is the second part, the relationships and backstory depend on the first volume, and readers diving straight in may find the characters unfamiliar. Overall, this is a long novel suited to slow reading, best approached by attending to the characters' transformations and the narrator's moral judgments rather than simply chasing plot twists.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers with Finnish reading ability who want to read a Dickens novel in translation
  • Scholars and students studying the Finnish translation and reception of Dickens
  • Literature lovers who enjoy coming-of-age novels and ensemble narratives and are willing to read a long work slowly
  • Readers who need public-domain electronic texts for language comparison or translation research

Not a good fit for

  • General readers who do not know Finnish and wish to read a Chinese or English version
  • Readers who plunge in without having read the first volume and know nothing of the characters' relationships
  • Those who prefer short works or fast-paced plots and lack patience for lengthy exposition

Reading tips

  1. Be sure to finish the first volume before starting this one, or the characters' entrances and earlier foreshadowing will be hard to follow.
  2. As you read, note the gap between the narrator's adult perspective and his childhood experiences, which is the source of the book's emotional tension.
  3. Prepare a brief character chart and update it as you read to help manage Dickens's dense cast of secondary characters.
  4. Finnish learners should read a set amount each day; when you hit a long sentence, grasp the main clause first rather than checking every word.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
  65. 65
  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
  69. 69
  70. 70
  71. 71
  72. 72
  73. 73
  74. 74
  75. 75
  76. 76
  77. 77
  78. 78
  79. 79
  80. 80
  81. 81
  82. 82
  83. 83
  84. 84
  85. 85
  86. 86
  87. 87
  88. 88
  89. 89
  90. 90
  91. 91
  92. 92
  93. 93
  94. 94
  95. 95
  96. 96
  97. 97
  98. 98
  99. 99
  100. 100
  101. 101
  102. 102
  103. 103
  104. 104

FAQ

Is this volume a complete novel or the second half?
This is the second part of David Copperfield, not a complete standalone book. The plot continues from the first volume, and the relationships and earlier events are set up in the preceding part, so reading in order is recommended.
What language is this edition in?
This edition is a Finnish translation, with the language marked as Finnish, released by Project Gutenberg. It suits Finnish readers or researchers of the translation, not readers who know only Chinese or English.
Can I read this without having read other Dickens works?
Yes. This is a standalone novel and does not depend on the backstory of other works. But it is long and has many characters, so first-time Dickens readers need patience and are advised to keep a character chart.

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About the author

Charles Dickens (Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870) is one of the most influential novelists in the history of English literature. The library holds 115 of his works, including novels, novellas and short stories; representative titles include The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol. He was known for serialized fiction, with plot twists and vivid characters, and he used humor and satire to portray Victorian society, paying particular attention to poor children, the lower classes and education, and his works often convey warmth and moral concern. In the library his works are often classified under "inspirational growth," and many of his novels have been adapted for stage and screen and are widely circulated. Public information about the details of his life is limited, so no speculation is offered here.

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