David Copperfield

David Copperfield

Also known as David Copperfield the Younger · Davy · Master Davy · Trotwood Copperfield · Trot

The narrator and protagonist, born posthumously in Blunderstone. His great-aunt adopts him; he becomes a successful writer and marries Agnes, with whom he has three children.

Miss Betsey Trotwood

Also known as Miss Betsey · Miss Trotwood · Betsey

David’s formidable great-aunt and guardian. She once loved and married a man who ruined her fortune and treated her cruelly; she continues to give him money to send him away. She is godmother to David and Agnes’s daughter Betsey.

David Copperfield (father)

Also known as Mr. Copperfield · David

David’s late father, who died six months before David was born.

Mrs. David Copperfield

Also known as David’s mother · Mrs. Copperfield · Ma · Clara

David’s young widowed mother, later married to Mr. Murdstone. She dies soon after giving birth to David’s baby brother.

Peggotty

Also known as Mrs. Peggotty

The Copperfields’ loyal servant and David’s close childhood companion. Ham’s aunt, she marries Mr. Barkis and supports her brother’s family.

Ham Peggotty

Also known as Ham · Am

Peggotty’s nephew, adopted by Mr. Peggotty. A skilled boat-builder, he was engaged to Little Em’ly and remains a steadfast friend and helper after her elopement.

Mr. Chillip

Also known as Mr. Chillip

A meek doctor who attends David’s birth and later comforts him. He remarries, establishes a practice near Bury St. Edmund’s, and has a daughter.

Ham’s father

Also known as Joe

Mr. Peggotty’s late brother and Ham’s father, who drowned.

Little Em’ly

Also known as Em’ly · Emily

Mr. Peggotty’s orphan niece, once engaged to Ham. After eloping with Steerforth and being abandoned abroad, she returns to London; Mr. Peggotty takes her with him to Australia, where she remains devoted to her uncle and helps others.

Tom

Also known as Mr. Peggotty’s brother-in-law

Little Em’ly’s late father, who drowned.

Mrs. Gummidge

Also known as Missis Gummidge

The widow of Mr. Peggotty’s late boat partner. She lives with the Peggottys and becomes a steadfast support after Em’ly’s flight; in Australia she proves a devoted helper and marries a ship’s cook who becomes a settler.

Mr. Gummidge

Also known as Mr. Peggotty’s partner · the old ’un

Mr. Peggotty’s late partner in a boat and Mrs. Gummidge’s husband.

Mr. Murdstone

Also known as Murdstone · Edward · David’s new father

A stern, controlling man who marries David’s mother and becomes his stepfather. He and his sister subject David to harsh discipline; he later marries again and remains severe toward his second wife.

Mr. Quinion

Also known as Quinion

An associate and business manager for Mr. Murdstone who arranges David’s work and takes him to London.

Mr. Passnidge

Also known as Passnidge

An associate of Mr. Murdstone who discusses a business project at a seaside hotel.

Brooks of Sheffield

Also known as Brooks

A person invoked as the subject of a joke among Mr. Murdstone and his associates.

The carrier

Also known as Mr. Barkis

The cart driver who takes David and Peggotty between Blunderstone and Yarmouth. He courts and marries Peggotty, then dies after a long illness, leaving her his savings.

Mr. Skylark

Also known as the man aboard the Skylark

An unnamed red-haired man aboard the yacht Skylark who keeps David company.

The nurse

The unnamed nurse summoned to attend David’s birth.

The old lady with a hand-basket

An unnamed elderly woman who wins the raffle for David’s caul.

Mrs. Grayper

A neighbour of the Copperfields who hosts David’s mother while David visits Yarmouth.

The clergyman

The unnamed clergyman at David’s parish church, who conducts his mother’s burial.

The boy in the aisle

An unnamed boy at David’s church who makes faces at him.

Mr. Bodgers

Also known as Mr. Bodgers late of this parish

A deceased former parishioner commemorated on a church tablet.

Mrs. Bodgers

Mr. Bodgers’s widow, mentioned in the parish church memorial.

The attorney

Also known as the attorney connected with the bill-broking business

An unnamed attorney who bids for David’s caul in a newspaper sale.

The sage women

Also known as the women in the neighbourhood

Unnamed local women who predict that David will be unlucky and see ghosts.

The two gentlemen at the hotel

Two unnamed yacht associates who meet Mr. Murdstone at the seaside hotel; one is Mr. Quinion and the other Mr. Passnidge.

The servant-girl

An unnamed household servant whom Miss Betsey mistakes for the expected baby.

Miss Murdstone

Also known as Jane Murdstone

Mr. Murdstone’s elder sister, who reinforces his harsh discipline of David and later becomes Dora Spenlow’s companion.

The dog

A large, black-haired dog kept in the Copperfields’ kennel who springs at David when he returns from Yarmouth.

The waiter

Also known as waiter at the old inn

An unnamed waiter at the Yarmouth inn who serves David and tells him alarming stories. Later he reports news of ships endangered by the storm.

Topsawyer

Also known as Mr. Topsawyer

A stout gentleman said by the Yarmouth waiter to have died after drinking the inn’s old ale.

The guard

Also known as George

The unnamed guard on the coach taking David toward London.

The coachman

The unnamed driver of the coach carrying David toward London.

The husky-voiced gentleman

Also known as the rough-faced gentleman

An unnamed passenger on David’s coach who jokes about his appetite.

The other gentleman on the coach

An unnamed passenger seated beside David overnight.

The elderly lady in the fur cloak

Also known as the lady with the basket

An unnamed coach passenger who puts her basket beneath David’s legs and prods him when he moves.

Mr. Mell

Also known as Master at Salem House · the Master at Salem House · the assistant

A mild, poor teacher at Salem House who treats David kindly. Steerforth humiliates him over his poverty and mother, leading to his dismissal; later he becomes a schoolmaster in Port Middlebay and presides at a dinner honouring Micawber.

Mrs. Mell

Also known as the old woman of the house · the old woman at the alms-houses

Mr. Mell’s poor, elderly mother, who lives in an almshouse and delights in her son’s flute playing. She later lives in Port Middlebay.

Mrs. Fibbitson

A frail elderly woman who lives in the almshouses with Mrs. Mell.

Tungay

Also known as the man with the wooden leg

The surly, wooden-legged Salem House attendant who supervises David and relays Mr. Creakle’s words.

Mr. Creakle

The harsh proprietor of Salem House, who beats pupils and makes David wear a placard saying he bites. He later becomes a Middlesex magistrate and promotes solitary confinement as prison discipline.

Mrs. Creakle

Mr. Creakle’s quiet, thin wife. Her son reportedly protested his father’s treatment of her and was cast out.

Miss Creakle

Mr. and Mrs. Creakle’s daughter, who attends Salem House.

Mr. Creakle’s son

Also known as the son who assisted at Salem House

Mr. and Mrs. Creakle’s unnamed son, who helped at the school and reportedly protested his father’s cruelty; his father cast him out.

Mr. Sharp

The senior master at Salem House, a delicate-looking man who wears a wig.

Tommy Traddles

Also known as Traddles

A good-natured, honourable Salem House pupil who befriends David and studies for the bar. He marries Sophy, who becomes his capable household manager and copying-clerk, and helps support her family; he later works busily in chambers and hopes to become a judge.

J. Steerforth

Also known as James Steerforth · Steerforth

A handsome, influential Salem House pupil and David’s close friend. Capricious and dismissive toward poorer people, he elopes with Little Em’ly and abandons her abroad; he later dies trying to rescue a sailor from a wreck.

George Demple

Also known as Demple

A Salem House pupil whose father is a doctor.

The new master

Also known as the master from the grammar school

An unnamed teacher from a grammar school who replaces Mr. Mell at Salem House.

The man in gaiters with one eye

An unnamed bystander at the London coach booking office who suggests tying David up in the stable.

The boy called Exchange or Barter

Also known as Exchange or Barter

An unnamed Salem House pupil, son of a coal merchant, said to attend in exchange for the school’s coal bill.

David’s baby brother

Also known as David’s brother · the baby

The unnamed infant son of David’s mother and Mr. Murdstone, who dies shortly after his mother.

Mr. Omer

Also known as Omer

A cheerful Yarmouth draper and funeral furnisher who knew David’s father and measures David for mourning clothes.

Minnie

Also known as Mrs. Joram

Mr. Omer’s kind daughter, now married to Joram and mother of their children.

Joram

Also known as Mr. Joram

A young man who works with a hammer near Mr. Omer’s shop; he marries Minnie and joins the family business.

The two young women at Omer’s

Also known as the two girls

Two unnamed young women who work with Minnie on mourning materials.

Mr. Grayper

Also known as David’s neighbour Mr. Grayper

A neighbour who accompanies David and Mr. Murdstone to David’s mother’s funeral.

Mr. Micawber

Also known as Micawber · Mr. Mortimer

A genial, eloquent but improvident man repeatedly imprisoned for debt. He becomes a clerk to Uriah Heep, whom he exposes for fraud and conspiracy, then emigrates to Australia, prospers as a district magistrate, and remains an esteemed writer and public speaker.

Mrs. Micawber

Also known as Emma

Mr. Micawber’s devoted wife and mother of their children. She accompanies him to Australia and is celebrated there as his wife.

Master Micawber

Also known as Wilkins Micawber

Mr. and Mrs. Micawber’s son, a restless boy with a strong singing voice. As an adult, Wilkins Micawber, Esquire, Junior, sings at a public dinner and dances with Doctor Mell’s daughter Helena.

Miss Micawber

Also known as Emma · Mrs. Ridger Begs · late Miss Micawber

Mr. and Mrs. Micawber’s young daughter. Later known as Mrs. Ridger Begs, she is married and toasted at her father’s public dinner.

The Micawber twins

The unnamed twin children of Mr. and Mrs. Micawber.

Clickett

Also known as the Orfling

The Micawbers’ young servant, from St. Luke’s workhouse.

The boot-maker creditor

Also known as the revengeful boot-maker

An unnamed creditor who demands payment from Mr. Micawber.

The bookstall keeper

An unnamed City Road bookseller who buys Mr. Micawber’s books from David.

The bookstall keeper’s wife

An unnamed woman who scolds the bookstall keeper and completes sales with David.

The pawnbroker

Also known as the principal gentleman behind the counter

An unnamed pawnbroker who sometimes asks David to recite Latin.

The other debtor

An unnamed debtor who shares Mr. Micawber’s room in the King’s Bench Prison.

Captain Hopkins

Also known as the Captain

A shabby debtor in the King’s Bench Prison who lends David a knife and fork and reads Mr. Micawber’s petition.

Captain Hopkins’s daughters

Also known as the two wan girls

Two unnamed, unkempt girls who are Captain Hopkins’s children.

The dirty lady in Captain Hopkins’s room

An unnamed woman who shares Captain Hopkins’s room.

The landlord of the public-house

An unnamed London public-house landlord who questions David before serving him ale.

The landlord’s wife

An unnamed woman who helps question David, then returns his money and kisses him compassionately.

The carman’s wife

An unnamed woman married to Tipp who lets rooms and is expected to lodge David.

Mick Walker

The oldest regular boy at Murdstone and Grinby’s warehouse, who shows David the work.

Mealy Potatoes

A warehouse boy at Murdstone and Grinby, nicknamed for his pale complexion.

Mealy Potatoes’s father

Also known as Mealy’s father

An unnamed waterman who also works as a theatre fireman.

Mealy Potatoes’s little sister

Also known as Mealy’s little sister

An unnamed young relation of Mealy Potatoes who performs as an imp in pantomimes.

Gregory

A foreman of the packers at Murdstone and Grinby’s warehouse.

Tipp

Also known as the carman

A carman at Murdstone and Grinby’s who is expected to lodge David.

The warehouse men and boys

Also known as the men and boys at Murdstone and Grinby’s

Unnamed workers who share the warehouse with David.

The clerk who gives Peggotty away

Also known as the clerk

An unnamed church clerk who gives Peggotty away at her wedding to Mr. Barkis.

The coal-heavers dancing

Also known as the coal-heavers

A group of unnamed coal-heavers whom David watches dancing.

Mrs. Micawber’s mother

Also known as Mrs. Micawber’s mama

Mrs. Micawber’s late mother, whose pearl jewellery she inherited.

Mrs. Micawber’s father

Also known as Mrs. Micawber’s papa

Mrs. Micawber’s late father, who repeatedly helped Mr. Micawber financially.

The long-legged young man

Also known as the donkey-cart driver

An unnamed young man who carries David’s trunk, steals his money, and threatens him.

The donkey

The unnamed animal pulling the long-legged young man’s cart.

The man from Murdstone and Grinby’s

An unnamed warehouse worker who tells David the towns near Dover are close together.

Mrs. Micawber’s family

Also known as her family

Mrs. Micawber’s unnamed relatives, who advise the Micawbers to leave London for Plymouth.

Mr. Dolloby

Also known as Dolloby

A second-hand clothes dealer who buys David’s waistcoat.

The old clothes dealer in Chatham

Also known as Charley

A drunken, frightening marine-store dealer who buys David’s jacket.

The tinker

An unnamed, threatening travelling tinker who takes David’s handkerchief and beats his companion.

The woman with the tinker

An unnamed woman travelling with the tinker who signals David to flee.

The fly-driver who helps David

Also known as David’s good-natured informant

An unnamed Dover fly-driver who recognizes David’s description of Miss Trotwood and points him toward her home.

Janet

Also known as Miss Betsey’s handmaid · my aunt’s handmaid

Miss Betsey’s young servant who helps care for David. After returning to Betsey’s service, she marries a prosperous tavern-keeper.

Mr. Dick

Also known as Mr. Richard Babley

Miss Betsey’s distant relation and companion, whom she rescued from confinement in an asylum. Gentle and eccentric, he helps reconcile Doctor and Annie Strong.

Mr. Dick’s brother

Also known as the brother who would have confined Mr. Dick

Mr. Dick’s unnamed brother, who tried to have him shut away in an asylum.

Mr. Dick’s sister

Also known as the favourite sister

Mr. Dick’s beloved sister, whose unhappy marriage contributed to his illness.

Mr. Dick’s brother-in-law

Also known as the husband of Mr. Dick’s sister

An unnamed man who married Mr. Dick’s sister and made her unhappy.

The Lord Chancellor

Also known as the Lord Somebody or other

The unnamed Lord Chancellor, or another high official, to whom Mr. Dick addresses his Memorial.

The fly-driver who drops the horsecloth

Also known as the fly-driver

An unnamed Dover fly-driver whose horsecloth David returns; he gives directions and a penny.

The shopkeeper weighing rice

Also known as the man behind the counter

An unnamed shopkeeper near Miss Trotwood’s home.

The boy attendant at Miss Trotwood’s garden

Also known as the unlucky urchin · the young malefactor · the donkey’s guardian

An unnamed boy who accompanies a donkey onto Miss Betsey’s green and is later pursued by her.

The sandy-headed donkey-boy

Also known as the young rascal

An unnamed donkey-boy of about fifteen who repeatedly trespasses on Miss Betsey’s green.

The saddle-donkeys

Also known as the lady-ridden donkeys

Two unnamed donkeys ridden by ladies that trespass on Miss Betsey’s green.

The donkey ridden by Miss Murdstone

Also known as the third animal

An unnamed donkey carrying a child attendant and later ridden by Miss Murdstone onto Miss Betsey’s green.

The boy riding the donkey

Also known as the bestriding child

An unnamed child carried on the donkey Miss Betsey leads off her lawn.

Mr. Wickfield

Also known as Wickfield

A Canterbury lawyer and steward, and Miss Betsey’s friend. Agnes’s father, he falls under Uriah Heep’s influence and confesses that grief and indulgence have led to his ruin; he later rebuilds a quiet life with Agnes.

Uriah Heep

Also known as Uriah

A pale, red-haired clerk and lawyer who gains influence over Mr. Wickfield and becomes his business partner. He declares his ambition to marry Agnes, is exposed by Mr. Micawber for fraud and conspiracy, and later poses as a model penitent in prison after a Bank fraud, forgery and conspiracy conviction.

Agnes Wickfield

Also known as Agnes

Mr. Wickfield’s daughter and capable housekeeper, devoted to her father and a source of goodness and guidance for David. She and David marry after revealing that she has loved him all her life.

Mrs. Wickfield

Also known as Mr. Wickfield’s late wife · Agnes’s mother

Mr. Wickfield’s gentle first wife and Agnes’s mother, who died when Agnes was two weeks old after her father rejected and disowned her.

Doctor Strong

Also known as Dr. Strong · the Doctor · the old Doctor

A kind scholar who runs a Canterbury school and compiles a Greek-root dictionary. He retires to London and hires David as his secretary; his trust in Annie endures despite years of misunderstanding.

Annie Strong

Also known as Annie · Mrs. Strong

Doctor Strong’s young wife, daughter of his late friend and once Jack Maldon’s childhood playmate. She loves and venerates the Doctor, but hid her distress over suspicions that her marriage was mercenary and Maldon’s improper advance.

Jack Maldon

Also known as Mr. Jack Maldon · John Maldon · Mr. Maldon · Cousin Maldon

Annie Strong’s cousin and former playfellow, for whom Doctor Strong arranges employment. He returns from India, later elopes with Little Em’ly, and abandons her abroad; in later life he holds a post and moves in Miss Mills’s wealthy social circle.

Adams

Also known as the head-boy

The affable head boy at Doctor Strong’s school, talented at mathematics.

Mrs. Markleham

Also known as the Old Soldier · Mrs. Strong’s mama · Annie’s mother

Annie Strong’s pleasure-loving, intrusive mother, who presses Doctor Strong to support her relatives and Jack Maldon. Her meddling fuels Annie’s fear that her marriage appears mercenary; later her influence is much reduced.

The beggar-woman with the infant

Also known as the beggar-woman

An unnamed woman who reportedly received Doctor Strong’s gaiters and later begged door to door with an infant wrapped in them.

The infant exhibited by the beggar-woman

Also known as the fine infant

An unnamed baby reportedly carried door to door by the beggar-woman.

King Charles the First

Also known as King Charles I · King Charles

The historical king whose execution date Mr. Dick recalls.

The man hiding near Miss Betsey’s house

Also known as the man who frightens Miss Betsey

An unidentified man who, according to Mr. Dick, approached Miss Betsey and whispered to her; she secretly gave him money.

Mrs. Heep

Also known as Uriah’s mother

Uriah Heep’s widowed mother, who lives with him and shares his exaggerated show of humility. When his fraud is exposed, she pleads for mercy and retrieves the deed and papers.

Miss Shepherd

A young boarder at the Misses Nettingalls’ school whom David adores; she later prefers Master Jones.

Master Jones

Also known as Jones

A boy whom Miss Shepherd prefers to David.

The first boy at Doctor Strong’s school

Also known as the first boy

An unnamed pupil who ranks above David at school.

The young butcher

Also known as the butcher

A Canterbury butcher who bullies Doctor Strong’s pupils and fights David.

The butcher’s two companions

Also known as the two other butchers

Two unnamed butchers who attend the young butcher during his fight with David.

The young publican at the fight

Also known as the publican

An unnamed young publican who attends the young butcher during his fight with David.

The sweep at the fight

Also known as the sweep

An unnamed sweep who attends the young butcher during his fight with David.

David’s second

Also known as his second

An unnamed boy who acts as David’s second during his first fight with the young butcher.

The eldest Miss Larkins

Also known as the eldest Miss Larkins

A tall, dark-haired woman whom David idealizes; she later marries Mr. Chestle.

The youngest Miss Larkins

Also known as the youngest Miss Larkins

The younger of the two Larkins sisters.

Mr. Larkins

The gruff father of the Miss Larkins sisters.

Captain Bailey

An officer who dances with the eldest Miss Larkins at a ball.

Mr. Chestle

An older hop-grower who marries the eldest Miss Larkins.

The Misses Nettingalls

The unnamed women who run the boarding school attended by Miss Shepherd.

William

Also known as the coachman

The coachman driving David from Canterbury toward London.

The gentleman behind David on the coach

Also known as the man who bred Suffolk Punches

An unnamed passenger who claims to breed horses and dogs and takes David’s box seat.

The waiter at the Golden Cross

Also known as the waiter

An unnamed waiter at the Golden Cross who serves David.

The chambermaid at the Golden Cross

Also known as the chambermaid

An unnamed chambermaid who shows David to his room.

Mrs. Steerforth

Also known as Steerforth’s mother

Steerforth’s widowed mother, devoted to her son. After learning of his death, she becomes unresponsive with grief, and Rosa Dartle remains at her side.

Miss Rosa Dartle

Also known as Rosa · Miss Dartle

A sharp, watchful companion to Mrs. Steerforth, scarred by Steerforth as a child. She loved him, confronts his mother with her grief and anger, and stays to care for her after his death.

Littimer

Also known as Peter · Steerforth’s servant · Mr. Littimer

Steerforth’s taciturn, respectable-looking servant who helped facilitate Em’ly’s departure and later accompanied her abroad. He was convicted of robbing his young master and transported; in prison he presents himself as a penitent and blames his former companions.

Steerforth’s father

Also known as Mr. Steerforth

Steerforth’s late father, whose absence Steerforth regrets.

Joe Omer

Also known as Joe

Minnie and Joram’s young son and Mr. Omer’s grandson.

Minnie and Joram’s younger child

Also known as the youngest · Minnie and Joram’s little girl

The unnamed young daughter of Minnie and Joram, close to Em’ly.

The poor lunatic gentleman

Also known as the lunatic gentleman

An unnamed man living in the Copperfields’ former home in Blunderstone.

Mr. Chillip’s second wife

Also known as Mr. Chillip’s wife · Mrs. Chillip

Mr. Chillip’s second wife, whose inheritance from her father enables him to buy a medical practice near Bury St. Edmund’s. He credits her observations about the Murdstones’ cruelty.

Mr. Chillip’s baby

Also known as the weazen little baby

The unnamed infant of Mr. Chillip and his second wife.

Martha Endell

Also known as Martha

A young woman once shunned in Yarmouth, whom Em’ly helped leave for London. She searched for Em’ly and emigrates with Mr. Peggotty; she later marries a farm-labourer and settles with him in the Australian bush, far from other neighbours.

Miss Mowcher

Also known as Mowcher

A diminutive professional beauty and grooming specialist who realizes she was deceived into helping Em’ly contact Littimer and vows to aid Em’ly. She later identifies Littimer in disguise, helps capture him, and gives evidence at his trial.

Lady Mithers

Also known as Lady Mithers

A client of Miss Mowcher.

Mithers

Also known as Mithers

Lady Mithers’s husband, mentioned by Miss Mowcher.

The Russian Prince

Also known as the Prince

A Russian client of Miss Mowcher.

Charley Pyegrave

Also known as Charley

A duke’s son and Life Guardsman, mentioned by Miss Mowcher as a client.

The elderly female at the perfumer’s

Also known as the Griffin

An unnamed woman in a perfumer’s shop who mistakes Charley Pyegrave’s request for moustache dye as a request for rouge.

Long Ned Beadwood

Also known as Ned Beadwood

A man whom Miss Mowcher says was taken to church to marry and left without the bride.

Mrs. Bond

A name Miss Mowcher uses while inviting Steerforth to submit to her grooming.

Mr. Spenlow

Also known as Spenlow · Francis

A proctor at Doctors’ Commons, Dora’s father and the late brother of Miss Lavinia and Miss Clarissa. His death changes his sisters’ view of Dora’s position.

Mr. Jorkins

Also known as Jorkins

Mr. Spenlow’s partner, whom Spenlow presents as strict and immovable.

The dry man at Spenlow and Jorkins’s

Also known as the dry man · the clerk

An unnamed clerk and copyist who receives David and his aunt at the office.

The presiding judge at Doctors’ Commons

Also known as the judge

An unnamed elderly judge who presides over a court David visits.

The doctors at Doctors’ Commons

Also known as the Doctors

Unnamed advocates in red gowns and grey wigs whom David sees in court.

The shabby-genteel man in court

Also known as the man eating crumbs

An unnamed member of the public at Doctors’ Commons who warms himself and eats crumbs.

The boy in court

Also known as the boy with a comforter

An unnamed member of the public at Doctors’ Commons.

Mrs. Crupp

Also known as Crupp

A stout landlady who rents David furnished chambers and offers him advice.

The deceased former occupant

Also known as the former occupant

The unnamed previous tenant of David’s Adelphi chambers, who died there of drink and smoking.

The handy young man

An unnamed waiter hired by Mrs. Crupp who is caught drinking from the bottles.

The young gal

Also known as the young female

An unnamed young woman hired to wash dishes at David’s dinner party.

Grainger

One of Steerforth’s Oxford friends, who attends dinner at David’s chambers.

Markham

One of Steerforth’s Oxford friends, who attends dinner at David’s chambers.

The ticket-porter

An unnamed porter who delivers Agnes’s letter and later serves at the Waterbrooks’ dinner in disguise.

Mr. Waterbrook

The solicitor who is Agnes’s father’s agent and hosts a dinner for David and others.

Mrs. Waterbrook

Mr. Waterbrook’s wife, who invites David to dinner.

Mr. Henry Spiker

Also known as Mr. Spiker

A cold, grey-headed solicitor with a Treasury connection.

Mrs. Henry Spiker

Also known as Hamlet’s aunt

Mr. Henry Spiker’s severe-looking wife.

Mrs. Henry Spiker’s brother

An unnamed man expected at the Waterbrooks’ dinner but absent through illness.

Mr. Gulpidge

Also known as Gulpidge

A dinner guest with a connection to the Bank’s legal business.

Mrs. Gulpidge

Mr. Gulpidge’s wife and a guest at the Waterbrooks’ dinner.

Mr. Tiffey

Also known as the old clerk with the wig

An elderly clerk at Doctors’ Commons who has visited Mr. Spenlow’s home.

The Lord mentioned by Mr. Gulpidge

Also known as Lord N.

An unnamed lord to whom a bond-related question was referred.

K.

Also known as the next in reversion

An unnamed person next in reversion who refused to sign a document connected with a bond.

Dora Spenlow

Also known as Dora

Mr. Spenlow’s young daughter, whom David loves and marries. Affectionate but lacking confidence in practical household matters, she grows ill and cannot recover.

Jip

Also known as Gipsy

Dora Spenlow’s little dog, jealous of David and devoted to Dora. He grows old and dies while Dora is dying.

The old gentleman at the dinner

An unnamed grey-headed great-grandfather who talks with Dora at Mr. Spenlow’s dinner.

The amiable gentleman with the polished head

An unnamed dinner guest who asks David about the grounds and tells him a gardening story.

The simpering gentleman with weak legs

An unnamed guest who escorts Agnes to dinner and praises aristocratic blood.

The gentleman lounging with an opera-glass

An unnamed man David glimpses lounging at the theatre.

The theatre ticket-taker

Also known as the man in the pigeon-hole

An unnamed man who collects payment at the theatre entrance.

The family servant at the Waterbrooks’

An unnamed servant who helps carry guests’ names upstairs.

The baker’s proctor

An unnamed proctor representing a baker in a Doctors’ Commons case.

The baker

Also known as the excommunicated baker

An unnamed baker excommunicated for six weeks after objecting to a paving-rate.

The judge in the Consistory

Also known as the Consistory judge

An unnamed judge in the ecclesiastical court who hears the case against the baker.

The advocates in the baker’s case

Also known as the advocates on both sides

Unnamed advocates in the Consistory case against the baker.

The curate’s daughter

Also known as Traddles’s fiancée · Sophy

Sophy Crewler, a Devonshire curate’s daughter, one of ten children, engaged to and now married to Traddles. She cares for her invalid mother and younger siblings, manages their home, and learns legal copying to assist her husband.

Yawler

A Salem House alumnus who helped Traddles begin copying legal documents and recommended him to law offices.

The milkman at Traddles’s lodging

Also known as the milkman

An unnamed milkman who demands payment for a long-overdue bill at Traddles’s lodging.

The youthful servant at Traddles’s lodging

Also known as the youthful servant girl

An unnamed young household servant at Traddles’s lodging.

The pleasant-faced servant at Steerforth’s house

An unnamed servant who answers David and Mr. Peggotty at the Steerforth home after Littimer’s departure.

The old woman employed at Peggotty’s house

An unnamed woman who helps with Peggotty’s household.

Minnie and Joram’s little girl

Also known as Minnie and Joram’s younger child · the youngest

The unnamed young daughter of Minnie and Joram, close to Em’ly.

Miss Mills

Also known as Julia

Dora’s friend who encourages her romance with David and helps them reconcile. She leaves for India with her father and later returns wealthy, married to an older Scottish man, living in luxury but dissatisfied.

Mr. Mills

Miss Mills’s father, who goes to India as a resident partner.

The man with the red whisker

Also known as Red Whisker

An unnamed young man at Dora’s picnic who courts her attention.

Miss Kitt

Also known as the creature in pink · the young creature in pink

A young woman at Dora’s picnic who receives David’s flirtatious attention.

The mother in green

An unnamed woman, mother of Miss Kitt, who separates her daughter from David.

Mr. Blackboy

A name David considers using as a pretext when nervous about knocking at Miss Mills’s door.

The old man breaking stones

Also known as the old man in wire spectacles

An unnamed man breaking stones on the road to Highgate.

The beggar who says “Blind!”

Also known as the beggar in the street

An unnamed beggar who says “Blind!” to David.

The immense butcher’s dog

Also known as the butcher’s dog

An unnamed large dog in the street that Jip barks at.

The two Miss Spenlows

Also known as Dora’s aunts

Mr. Spenlow’s two maiden sisters, who take Dora into their home after his death and permit David to visit her under strict conditions.

Miss Lavinia

Also known as Miss Spenlow

Dora’s aunt and Mr. Spenlow’s sister, who manages the conference with David and Traddles and supervises David’s visits to Dora.

Miss Clarissa

Also known as Miss Spenlow

Dora’s aunt and Mr. Spenlow’s sister, who supports Lavinia’s conditions for David’s visits.

Mr. Pidger

Also known as Pidger

A man whom Miss Lavinia and Miss Clarissa believed had been in love with Lavinia; David doubts he ever expressed such feelings.

The English gentleman in authority

Also known as the English gentleman

An unnamed English official in France who gives Mr. Peggotty papers to help him travel in search of Em’ly and offers him money.

The traveller’s house keeper

An unnamed person who runs a clean, plain lodging on the Dover Road where Mr. Peggotty expects to stay.

The uncle’s wife

Also known as Traddles’s uncle’s wife

An unnamed woman who could not bear Traddles’s upright hair.

Reverend Horace Crewler

Also known as the Reverend Horace

Sophy’s father, a curate, who urged his wife to reconcile herself to Sophy’s engagement to Traddles and officiates at their wedding. Traddles later helps him obtain a living.

Mrs. Crewler

Also known as Sophy’s mother

The wife of Reverend Horace Crewler. She fainted when Traddles’s engagement to Sophy was first raised, but later accepts their marriage; she is deceased by the time of the final retrospect.

Sarah Crewler

Also known as Sarah

Sophy’s sister, who has a spinal ailment and reacted intensely to the news of Sophy’s engagement.

The Beauty

Also known as the eldest sister · Caroline

Sophy’s eldest sister, Caroline, nicknamed the Beauty. She later becomes a widow with a little girl after an unhappy marriage to a vagabond, and lives with Traddles and Sophy.

Sophy’s eight other siblings

Also known as the other eight

Eight unnamed siblings of Sophy who reacted emotionally to her engagement to Traddles.

Sophy’s two little sisters

Also known as the two little ones · Margaret · Lucy

Sophy’s two youngest sisters, whom she educated and who once detested Traddles for taking her away.

The soldier travelling to see his friends

An unnamed poor soldier who travels alongside Mr. Peggotty for part of his journey through France.

Paragon

Also known as Mary Anne

David and Dora’s first housemaid, whose neglectful housekeeping and unauthorized borrowing cause them trouble.

Paragon’s cousin

Also known as the cousin in the Life-Guards

An unnamed Life Guardsman and Paragon’s cousin, whose imposing size and visits are conspicuous in David and Dora’s cottage.

Mrs. Kidgerbury

Also known as the oldest inhabitant of Kentish Town

An elderly charwoman who briefly works for David and Dora but is too feeble to carry out her cleaning plans.

The servant who falls on the kitchen stairs

Also known as the amiable servant

An unnamed amiable housemaid in David and Dora’s household who repeatedly falls with trays and is dismissed after causing damage.

The servant who wears Dora’s bonnet

Also known as the young person of genteel appearance

An unnamed later housemaid in David and Dora’s household who wears Dora’s bonnet to Greenwich Fair.

The washerwoman

An unnamed laundress who pawns David and Dora’s clothes and apologizes while intoxicated.

The beadle

An unnamed parish official whom David accuses of perjury after a household incident.

The postman

An unnamed postman who brings Uriah Heep letters at Highgate.

The pew-opener

An unnamed woman who arranges David and Dora’s party at the church altar during their wedding.

The church clerk at David and Dora’s wedding

An unnamed clerk who assists at the ceremony.

The ancient mariner at David and Dora’s wedding

An unnamed sailor in the church congregation whose breath smells strongly of rum.

Miss Betsey Trotwood’s husband

Also known as my aunt’s husband · Betsey’s husband

An unnamed man whom Betsey once loved and married. He squandered the fortune she left him, treated her cruelly, later became an adventurer, gambler and cheat, and periodically returns to demand money.

The page

Also known as the boy employed by David and Dora

An unnamed, tearful household servant with no known family except a sister. He steals Dora’s watch, confesses to other household thefts and a pot-boy’s burglary plan, and is transported; David later hears he became a shepherd abroad.

The page’s sister

Also known as the page’s sister who fled to America

The unnamed sister of David and Dora’s page, who fled to America after they took him into their household.

The cook

Also known as the household cook

An unnamed cook in David and Dora’s household whose conduct is exposed by the page’s confessions; she has a little girl who takes their bread.

The cook’s little girl

Also known as the cook’s daughter

An unnamed girl who, according to the page, takes bread from David and Dora’s household early each morning.

The pot-boy

An unnamed boy whom the page says intended to burgle David and Dora’s premises.

The young woman who shelters Em’ly

Also known as Em’ly’s friend in the foreign country · the good young woman

A young wife abroad who takes in Em’ly after finding her ill on the shore, hides and cares for her, and helps her travel back toward England. At the time, her husband is away at sea and she is expecting a child.

The young woman’s husband

Also known as the husband away at sea

The unnamed husband of the young woman who shelters Em’ly; he is away at sea when she takes Em’ly into their cottage.

The young woman’s baby

Also known as the good young woman’s baby

The child of the young woman who sheltered Em’ly. Mr. Peggotty hopes the baby is now a comfort to its kind mother.

The little girl on the beach abroad

Also known as the child who offers Em’ly a shell

An unnamed child playing on the beach who calls Em’ly “Fisherman’s daughter” and offers her a shell, helping Em’ly recover her own language.

Minnie Omer’s granddaughter

Also known as the little Minnie · the little elephant

Mr. Omer’s young granddaughter and Minnie’s daughter. She cheerfully pushes his wheeled chair around the shop.

The sheriff’s officer

Also known as the officer who takes Mr. Micawber into custody

An unnamed officer who takes Mr. Micawber into custody under a writ; the group pays the debt and costs to secure his release.

The pretty girl among the inn watchers

Also known as the girl with her ears stopped by her apron

An unnamed young woman among the inn’s storm watchers. She screams when David enters, mistaking him for a spirit.

The half-dressed boatman

Also known as the boatman with the tattooed arrow

An unnamed boatman on the beach who points David toward the wreck and helps explain the danger to the men aboard.

The coachman on the mail to Yarmouth

An unnamed coachman who tells David the stormy sky signals danger at sea.

The boat-builder at Ham’s yard

An unnamed boat-builder at Ham’s workplace who tells David Ham has gone to Lowestoft and assures him Ham will not risk returning by sea.

The active sailor with curling hair

Also known as the active figure on the wreck

An unidentified sailor conspicuous among the crew of the wrecked schooner, working to cut away broken rigging. He is later left clinging alone to the mast during the storm.

The fisherman who knew David

Also known as the fisherman

An unnamed fisherman who has known David since childhood and tells him that a body has come ashore after the wreck.

The little parlour-maid

Also known as the parlour-maid

An unnamed young servant at the Steerforth home who admits David and carries his message to Mrs. Steerforth.

The spare waiter at the Gray’s Inn Coffee-house

Also known as the middle-aged waiter

An unnamed, middle-aged waiter who gives David directions to Traddles’s chambers and consults the chief waiter.

The chief waiter at the Gray’s Inn Coffee-house

Also known as the potential waiter · the portentous waiter

An unnamed, imposing waiter who dismisses David’s question about Traddles’s reputation and serves him at the coffee-house.

The old gentleman at the Gray’s Inn Coffee-house

Also known as the retired conveyancer

An unnamed wealthy retired conveyancer who dines at the Gray’s Inn Coffee-house and is rumoured to leave his fortune to his laundress’s daughter.

The sharp-looking lad at Traddles’s chambers

Also known as the half-footboy and half-clerk · the sharp boy

An unnamed young servant and clerk in Traddles’s chambers who manages the papers and tea service.

Louisa Crewler

Also known as Louisa

One of Sophy Crewler’s sisters, staying with Sophy and Traddles in London.

The member of Mrs. Micawber’s family

Also known as the Member

An unnamed relative of Mrs. Micawber who comes to see the family before their emigration.

Mrs. Murdstone

Also known as the present Mrs. Murdstone

Mr. Murdstone’s second wife, a young woman from the Bury St. Edmund’s area with a small inheritance. Mr. Chillip hears that Mr. Murdstone and Miss Murdstone have nearly reduced her to imbecility through tyranny, gloom and worry.

Agnes’s maternal grandfather

Also known as Agnes’s grandfather

An unnamed hard man who disowned his daughter after she married Mr. Wickfield against his wishes. He rejected her plea for forgiveness before Agnes was born, breaking her heart.

Agnes Copperfield

Also known as little Agnes · the eldest child

David and Agnes’s eldest child, a little girl with golden curls. She welcomes Mr. Peggotty when he visits their home.

The prison warder who explains the cases

Also known as the warder

An unnamed prison warder who tells David and Traddles that Uriah Heep was convicted of Bank fraud, forgery and conspiracy, and that Littimer was convicted of robbing a young master.

The patient before the Commission of Lunacy

Also known as the patient who had become deranged from excessive drinking

An unnamed patient whose mental condition Mr. Chillip is to assess for a Commission of Lunacy; the passage attributes his derangement to excessive drinking.

The other two Copperfield children

Also known as David and Agnes’s other children

The two unnamed younger children of David and Agnes, seen playing with their family when Mr. Peggotty visits.

The farm-labourer who marries Martha

Also known as Martha’s husband

An unnamed farm-labourer who meets Martha while travelling to market and marries her. They establish a home together in the Australian bush.

The ship’s cook who marries Mrs. Gummidge

Also known as the cook who was turning settler

An unnamed ship’s cook settling in Australia who offers to marry Mrs. Gummidge; she accepts by dropping a bucket over his head, and Mr. Peggotty rescues him.

The Port Middlebay Times reporter

Also known as the newspaper correspondent

An unnamed journalist who writes up Wilkins Micawber’s public dinner and reproduces Micawber’s letter to David.

Helena Mell

Also known as Miss Helena · the lovely and accomplished Miss Helena

The fourth daughter of Doctor Mell, who dances with Wilkins Micawber, Esquire, Junior, at a public dinner.

Betsey Trotwood Copperfield

Also known as a real living Betsey Trotwood

David and Agnes’s daughter, named after Miss Betsey Trotwood. She is Miss Betsey’s goddaughter.

The Beauty’s daughter

Also known as the little girl

The unnamed daughter of Caroline Crewler, the Beauty, who lives with her widowed mother in Traddles and Sophy’s household.

The Beauty’s husband

Also known as the vagabond

An unnamed man who married Caroline Crewler, the Beauty, and is described as a vagabond; she is later a widow.

The three married Crewler daughters’ husbands

Also known as the three husbands

Three unnamed men married to Sophy’s sisters, present at Traddles and Sophy’s family dinner.

The brother of one of the Crewler daughters’ husbands

Also known as one of the husband’s brothers

An unnamed man attending the family dinner as the brother of one of Sophy’s sisters’ husbands.

The cousin of one of the Crewler daughters’ husbands

Also known as another husband’s cousin

An unnamed cousin of one of Sophy’s sisters’ husbands, present at the family dinner.

The sister of one of the Crewler daughters’ husbands

Also known as another husband’s sister

An unnamed sister of one of Sophy’s sisters’ husbands; she appears to be engaged to the cousin at the family dinner.