[01:40.50]Chapter 1 David Copperfield's childhood
[01:46.50]I was born at Blunderstone,in Suffolk,in the east of England,and was given my poor father's name,David Copperfield.
[01:55.66]Sadly,he never saw me He was much older than my mother when they married,and died six months before I was born.
[02:04.27]My father's death made my beautiful young mother very unhappy,
[02:09.15]and she knew she would find life extremely difficult with a new baby and no husband.
[02:15.41]The richest and most important person in our family was my father's aunt,Miss Betsey Trotwood.
[02:23.69]She had in fact been married once,to a handsome young husband.
[02:28.64]But because he demanded money from her,and sometimes beat her,she decided they should separate.
[02:36.64]He went abroad,and soon news came of his death.
[02:40.86]Miss Trotwood bought a small house by the sea,and lived there alone,with only one servant.
[02:47.74]She had not spoken to my father since his marriage,because she considered he had made a mistake in marrying a very young girl.
[02:56.74]But just before I was born,when she heard that my mother was expecting a baby,she came to visit Blunder- stone.
[03:04.98]It was a cold,windy Friday afternoon in March.
[03:09.63]My mother was sitting by the fire,feeling very lonely and unhappy,and crying a little.
[03:16.09]Suddenly a stern, strange-looking face appeared at the window.
[03:21.07]"Open the door!" ordered the sternfaced lady. “
[03:24.55]My mother was shocked,but obeyed at once.
[03:27.60]"You must be David Copper field's wife,"said the lady as she entered. “
[03:32.69]"I'm Betsey Trotwood. You've heard of me?" “
[03:36.77]"Yes，"whispered mother,trembling. "“
[03:39.98]How young you are!" cried Miss Betsey."Just a baby!"  “
[03:44.16]My mother started sobbing again."I know I look like a child!
[03:49.51]I know I was young to be a wife,and I'm young to be a mother!
[03:53.75]But perhaps I'll die before I become a mother!"
[03:57.34]"Come, come! answered Miss Betsey."Have some tea. “
[04:00.95]Then you'll feel better.What do you call your girl?"
[04:04.54]"My girl?I don't know yet that it will be a girl,"replied my mother miserably. “
[04:11.44]"No,I don't mean the baby,I mean your servant!" “
[04:13.97]"Her name's Peggotty.Her first name's Clara,the same as mine, “
[04:19.16]so I call her by her family name,you see."
[04:22.17]"What a terrible name!However,never mind. Peggotty!"she called,going to the door. “
[04:29.11]"Bring Mrs Copperfield some tea at once!" “
[04:31.82]She sat down again and continued speaking."You were talking about the baby.I'm sure it'll be a girl.
[04:39.92]Now,as soon as she' s born..." "He,perhaps," said my mother bravely.
[04:46.02]"Don' t be stupid,of course it'll be a she.I'm going to send her to school,and educate her well. “
[04:52.97]I want to prevent her from making the mistakes I've made in life."
[04:57.16]Miss Betsey looked quite angry as she said this.
[05:00.85]My mother said nothing,as she was not feeling at all well.
[05:04.87]"But tell me,were you and your husband happy?"asked Miss Betsey. “
[05:11.04]This made my poor mother feel worse than ever."
[05:15.16]"I know I wasn't very sensible—about money—or cooking—or things like that!" she sobbed. “
[05:24.40]"But we loved each other—and he was helping me to learn—and then he died!Oh!Oh!" “
[05:32.82]And she fell back in her chair,completely unconscious.
[05:37.64]Peggotty,who came in just then with the tea,realized how serious the situation was,and took my mother upstairs to bed.
[05:46.56]The doctor arrived soon afterwards,and stayed all evening to take care of his patient.
[05:52.82]At about midnight he came downstairs to the sitting－room where Miss Betsey was waiting impatiently.
[06:00.30]"Well,doctor, what's the news? How is she?" “
[06:05.32]"The young mother is quite comfortable,madam," replied the doctor politely. “
[06:10.94]"But she,the baby,how is she?" cried Miss Betsey. “
[06:16.09]The doctor looked strangely at Miss Betsey."It's a boy,madam," he replied.
[06:22.47]Miss Betsey said nothing,but walked straight out of the house,and never came back.
[06:31.04]That was how I was born.
[06:33.47]My early childhood was extremely happy,as my beautiful mother and kind Peggotty took care of me.
[06:41.69]But when I was about eight,a shadow passed over my happiness.
[06:46.42]My mother often went out walking,in her best clothes,with a gentleman called Mr Murdstone.
[06:53.28]He had black hair,a big black moustache and an unpleasant smile,and seemed to be very fond of my mother.
[07:01.43]But I knew that Peggotty did not like him.
[07:04.50]A few months later Peggotty told me that my mother was going to have a short holiday with some friends.
[07:11.97]Meanwhile Peggotty and I would go to stay with her brother Daniel in Yarmouth，on the east coast,for two weeks.
[07:19.42]I was very excited when we climbed into the cart,although it was sad saying goodbye to my mother.
[07:26.20]Mr Murdstone was at her shoulder,waving goodbye,as the driver called to his horse,and we drove out of the village.
[07:35.24]When we got down from the cart in Yarmouth,after our journey,Peggotty said,"That's the house,Master David!"
[07:43.88]I looked all round,but could only see an old ship on the sand.
[07:49.90]"Is that—that your brother's house?"I asked in delight.
[07:55.95]And when we reached it,I saw it had doors and windows and a chimney,just like a real house.
[08:02.85]I could not imagine a nicer place to live. Everything was clean and tidy,and smelt of fish.
[08:09.61]Now I was introduced to the Peggotty family.There was Daniel Peggotty,a kind old sailor.
[08:17.37]Although he was not married,he had adopted two orphans,who lived with him and called him Uncle.
[08:23.73]Ham Peggotty was a large young man with a gentle smile,and Emily was a beautiful,blue-eyed little girl.
[08:32.04]They all welcomed Peggotty and me warmly.
[08:35.86]I spent a wonderfully happy two weeks there,playing all day on the beach with Emily,and sleeping in my own little bed on the ship.
[08:44.73]I am sure I was in love with little Emily in my childish way,and I cried bitterly when we had to say goodbye at the end of the holiday.
[08:54.81]But on the way home to Blunderstone,Peggotty looked at me very worriedly.
[09:01.31]"Master David,my dear,"she said suddenly in a trembling voice. “
[09:07.37]"I must tell you—you'll have to know now... “
[09:11.66]While we've been away,your dear mother—has married Mr Murdstone!He's your stepfather now!"
[09:21.41]I was deeply shocked. I could not understand how my mother could have married that man.
[09:29.01]And when we arrived home,I could not help showing my mother how very miserable I was.
[09:35.44]I went straight to my room and lay sobbing on my bed,which made my poor mother very unhappy too.
[09:43.30]As she sat beside me,holding my hand,Mr Murdstone suddenly came in.
[09:50.75]"What's this,Chara,my love?" he asked sternly. “
[09:54.34]"Remember，you?must?be firm with the boy!I've told you before,you're too weak with him!" “
[10:01.42]"Oh yes，Edward,I'm afraid you're right," my mother replied quickly."I'm very sorry.I'll try to be firmer with him."  “
[10:12.40]And when she left the room,Mr Murdstone whispered angrily to me,
[10:18.14]"David,do you know what I'll do if you don't obey me? I'll beat you like a dog!"  “
[10:25.20]I was still very young,and I was very frightened of him.
[10:31.10]If he had said one kind word to me,perhaps I would have liked and trusted him,and my life would have been different.
[10:39.05]Instead,I hated him for the influence he had over my dear mother,who wanted to be kind to me,but also wanted to please her new husband.
[10:50.63]That evening Mr Murdstone's sister arrived to "help" my mother in the house.
[10:56.65]A tall dark lady,with a stern,frowning face,she looked and sounded very much like her brother.
[11:04.50]I thought she was planning to stay with us for a long time,and I was right.
[11:09.87]In fact,she intended to stay for ever. She started work the next morning.
[11:16.85]"Now,Clara," she said firmly to my mother at breakfast,"I am here to help you. “
[11:24.83]You're much too pretty and thoughtless to worry about the servants,the food and so on.
[11:31.71]So just hand me your keys to all the cupboards,and I'll take care of everything for you."
[11:38.88]My poor mother just blushed,looked a little ashamed,and obeyed.
[11:45.84]From then on,Miss Murdstone took complete control of the house,keeping the keys hanging from her waist as she hurried through the house,
[11:55.90]checking that everything was being done just as she wished.