David Copperfield - A Warm Up

This week Shari and Rhea begin reading David Copperfield. In this episode, they do a “warm up” to the reading; that is, an introduction to the time and place in which Dickens is writing. They share some of the more surprising struggles they’ve had while reading David Copperfield, and wonder if they’ve made a mistake in reading it back-to-back with Demon Copperhead. They talk about the difference between Regency and Victorian England, the messy emergence of England’s middle class, other British literature of the same era… but not exactly the same era, and how all this new understanding is helping them to pick up more of the satire and social commentary that Charles Dickens is putting down throughout the story.The episode schedule for David Copperfield will be every two weeks. Below is the readings schedule with dates:* May 14th: Chapters 1-22* May 28th: Chapters 23-42* June 11th: Chapters 43-64 + a short wrap up with the Great StoryWe recommend finding a copy of David Copperfield that offers literary and/or historical commentary on Dicken’s and his writing of David Copperfield, as well as offers footnotes to give context to confusing words, phrases, or references. Rhea and I are reading from: the Penguin Classics Edition, and The Barnes & Noble Classics Series.Read wide & read well, dear listeners. And live every day in witness to the Great Story.Intro and Exit music: Dawn by Ardie’s Son Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe