After exposing Uriah Heep as a criminal and a fraud--and forcing him to make reparations for all the money he embezzled--Mr. Micawber also plans to move his family to Australia. Steerforth is killed in a shipwreck, as is Ham--Em'ly's cousin, who loved her--and David remains deeply saddened by Dora's death. He travels abroad for several years but returns at last, realizing that he loves and has always loved Agnes Wickfield. Now a famous writer, David marries Agnes, and the two live happily ever after, as do their friends in Australia.









David Copperfield
The protagonist of the novel, a talented, intelligent, sensitive young boy whose father dies before he is born and whose mother dies when he is still very young. Maltreated by his stepfather, Mr. Murdstone, David goes to live with his great-aunt, Miss Trotwood. He attends school, becomes apprenticed to a law firm, and eventually becomes a famous writer. As a young man he marries Dora Spenlow; after she dies, he marries Agnes Wickfield. Clara Copperfield
David's mother, a caring and generous woman who makes an unwise marriage to Mr. Murdstone and dies shortly after the birth of their child. Edward Murdstone
Mrs. Copperfield's second husband, David's stepfather. Handsome but cruel, Murdstone marries David's mother only for her money. He beats David savagely and enrolls him in a miserable school. Later, he forces David to go to work in his London wine warehouse when David is still a young boy. Clara Peggotty
The Copperfields' housekeeper, later Barkis' wife, later Miss Trotwood's housekeeper. A kind woman, she is loyal to David throughout the novel. Tommy Traddles
David's friend from Salem House, who eventually becomes a lawyer and later a magistrate. Marries Sophy Crewler. Miss Betsey Trotwood
David's domineering great-aunt, a formidable woman with an extremely kind heart. Agnes Wickfield
Mr. Wickfield's angelic daughter, kind, serene, and beautiful. She is a friend to David throughout the novel; near the end of the book, he realizes that he loves her, and she becomes his second wife. Mr. Spenlow
A lawyer who runs the firm at which David is apprenticed. Conservative and set in his ways, he becomes enraged when David proposes to marry his daughter Dora. Dora Spenlow
Mr. Spenlow's beautiful, spoiled daughter, with whom David falls madly in love and eventually marries. Dora is a horrible housekeeper, and she dies shortly after the birth (and almost immediate death) of her first child.