Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 I Am Born 4 CHAPTER 2 I Have a Change 9 CHAPTER 3 I Am Sent Away 16 CHAPTER 4 Salem House 22 CHAPTER 5 My Holiday 28 CHAPTER 6 A Memorable Birthday 33 CHAPTER 7 Life on My Own 39 CHAPTER 8 My Aunt Makes Up Her Mind about Me 44 CHAPTER 9 Another Beginning 52 CHAPTER 10 I Am a New Boy 59 CHAPTER 11 Somebody Turns Up 63 CHAPTER 12 I Choose a Profession 69 CHAPTER 13 A Loss 75 CHAPTER 14 My Aunt Astonishes Me 80 CHAPTER 15 Dora’s Aunts 89 CHAPTER 16 Intelligence 96 CHAPTER 17 The New Wound 104 CHAPTER 18 A Light Shines 108
1 I Am Born I have been told that I was born on a Friday at midnight I was born in the small town of Blunderstone in Suffolk England My father had died some six months before The most surprising thing about my birth was the visitor who arrived just before it Betsey Trotwood was my father’s aunt Miss Trotwood had once been married Her husband was a great disappointment to her considering he once tried to toss her out of a third-story window She paid him off and he went away to India Miss Trotwood then lived as a single woman for the rest of her life She believed strongly that all women would benefit from life without husbands 4
On the afternoon before my arrival my mother was sitting by the fire She was missing my father and fretting that she would not survive my arrival At some point my mother’s eyes drifted toward the window There she saw a strange lady with her nose pressed to the window My mother jumped from her chair as Miss Trotwood strode in Mrs David Copperfield I think the older woman inquired Yes my mother whispered just before bursting into tears Oh tut tut Miss Trotwood said Don’t do that But my mother had little choice and did cry until she had quite cried herself out Miss Trotwood demanded to know the name of my mother’s servant Then she opened the parlor door and shouted Here Peggotty Tea Your mistress is a little unwell Don’t dawdle Then Miss Trotwood sat and announced Your child will be a girl I am certain From 5
