• David Copperfield

  • By: Charles Dickens
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 33 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,661 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
David Copperfield  By  cover art

David Copperfield

By: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.79

Buy for $25.79

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

At 34 hours in length, this is quite an undertaking, but there's no one better qualified than Simon Vance to lead us through this audio journey. He parses the author's long sentences well, pausing sufficiently to make the details easy to follow while still maintaining a quick enough pace to keep the story going. Most enjoyable is his voicing of the myriad characters who appear in the narrative - and characters they certainly are. Vance times their occasionally hilarious exchanges especially well. All of this is delivered in a manner that suggests that Vance revels in Dickens's prose and sly humor, and the listener cannot help but revel along with him. Three cheers for Vance - and not the least for his stamina!

Publisher's summary

David Copperfield is the quintessential novel by England's most beloved novelist. Based in part on Dickens's own life, it is the story of a young man's journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among its gloriously vivid cast of characters, he encounters his tyrannical stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; the frivolous, enchanting Dora; and one of literature's great comic creations, the magnificently impecunious Mr. Micawber - a character resembling Dickens's own father.

In David Copperfield - the novel he described as his "favorite child" - Dickens drew revealingly on his own experiences to create one of his most exuberant and enduringly popular works, filled with tragedy and comedy in equal measure.

©1923 Public Domain (P)2009 Tantor

What listeners say about David Copperfield

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,872
  • 4 Stars
    518
  • 3 Stars
    170
  • 2 Stars
    59
  • 1 Stars
    42
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,706
  • 4 Stars
    271
  • 3 Stars
    73
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    12
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,499
  • 4 Stars
    386
  • 3 Stars
    138
  • 2 Stars
    36
  • 1 Stars
    27

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

"I am born."

Wow, was I ever. This was the first Dickens I read "voluntarily". It is well appreciated in my present reading. I know there is another reading of this story on Audible & I am here to say that I couldn't be happier w/ Simon Vance's version. From his "Maser Davey" of Mr Peggotty to his villanous "Copperfield" of Uriah Heap, Mr Vance is up for the duty of telling this increible story. I went to this book after listening to "The Last Dickens", purchashed here on Audible. That book introduced me to the American Superstar that was Charles Dickens. Could you just imagine waiting for these monthly installments in 1850? This book is a flawless study of all that humanity has to offer. Charles Dickens was able to put a masterpiece together in masterful pieces. Treat your spirit to this novel. It will give you the strength of the ages. Some things are simply timeless.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

85 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent presentation of a great story.

Not much to say about Dickens or "David Copperfield." It's a classic. It's one of his greatest works, full of sharp, vivid characters and subtle emotions that take many chapters to bloom. Amazing work. A student of writing can examine this the rest of their life and never put a finger on exactly how Dickens succeeds in leading the story to the powerful conclusions and climaxes it reaches. At times it is literally, quite literally, breathtaking.

Simon Vance is an excellent reader and handles this book well. No complaints at all. My own opinion is that Robert Whitfield manages Dickens just a little bit better, with a slightly more insightful nuance at points. I couldn't explain that if I had to, but that's my impression. Whitfield doesn't read this one, and Vance is exceptional and lively and handles the complex prose superbly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

43 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

More saints per capita than any book by Butler

'David Copperfield' contains more saints per capita than any beatified book by Butler. Dickens is amazing in his ability to be both grand and personal. 'David Copperfield' is sprawling, with dozens of threads that weave around David Copperfield's youth and adulthood. IT is amazing not only how he can transform a character through time, but also show that our perceptions of those same characters are drawn often from imperfect information and overly simple assumptions. Yes, there are parts of 'David Copperfield' that float between the melodramatic and the grotesque, but one doesn't read Dickens for the unmoving, normal or embellished. There are a handful of novels that I would consider to be the literary equivalent of scripture: 'Les Miserables', 'the Idiot', 'Anna Karenina', and for sure 'David Copperfield'.

There are several moments in 'David Copperfield' when, as a reader, you recognize you will never be half the writer Dickens was (on deadline). He might just be second to Shakespeare in my book, or at least be among a small cadre of writers that belong on the silver pedestal below the Bard.

This isn't as technically perfect as 'Great Expectations', but it is top tier Dickens for sure. A massive novel that floats with the weight of a beach read half its size. If you are going to read a Dickens, this might not be your first stop, but it shouldn't be far from your second.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

41 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Simply Amazing

I was admittedly intimidated by the length of this work and have passed reading this book in the past. However, my like of all things Dickens drove me to purchase this book and I have to say, it is one of the most delightful reads in my experience. Simon Vance is an amazing narrator and brings this story to life. The story is so full of richness and experience. I highly recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

David Copperfield, Unabridged

I, too, am a great fan of Robert Whitfield and I go to great lengths to obtain his recordings. It is very hard to avoid David Case, whose narration always sounds so insufferably stuck up.

But, Joseph in Austin, I have the ironic duty to inform you that, just as David case and Frederick Davidson are the same person, Robert Whitfield and Simon Vance are one and the same.

Wonderful job as always.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great classic story narrated perfectly

Excellent story, excellent narrator. Charles Dickens' story brought to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

David Copperfield is awesome.

Wonderful narrator who does true justice to an outstanding classic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Truly inspired.

Incredible English classic read by a most gifted narrator. I honestly became quite sad when the story was ending. Most highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing performance

Let's take it as a given that Dickens was a great writer. Even if you have read the book in hardcover, consider listening to it. Simon Vance's narration is the best I've heard in the 200+ books I've bought. He brings the colorful characters to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Listening!

I enjoyed this book very much and am listening again to catch more details. The narrator is very good. I think this may be Dickens' masterpiece. There are a few tiresome, negative, diabolical, ugly, mooching and under-handed characters. And bad things do happen to good people. All in all, though, the really bad folks get their come-uppance. Alas, I saw a bit of myself in Dora and I was most satisfied when Davey FINALLY chose a proper second wife for himself. Dickens winds it up nicely. I will listen again and again to this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful