Storytime for Grownups with Faith Moore

Episode: David Copperfield – Chapter 12
Date: February 16, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Faith Moore continues her warm, immersive journey through Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, focusing on Chapter 12. The episode expands on the social, historical, and autobiographical context behind the events of the chapter, especially the realities of debtors’ prisons and child labor in Victorian England. Faith enriches Dickens’ prose with her own commentary, thoughtful asides, and listener correspondence, making classic literature accessible and engaging for a modern grownup audience.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Correspondence & Thematic Recap

[02:15–08:30]

• Recap of Chapter 11:

  • Davy’s miserable labor at Murdstone and Grinby’s warehouse.
  • Introduction to the Micawber family, their kindness to Davy, and their financial woes.
  • Mr. Micawber’s arrest for debt and subsequent move to debtors’ prison, with wife and children following.
  • Davy's loneliness and the crushing gap between his current predicament and his earlier hopes.

• Listener Comments Highlighted:

  • Rachel Clevenger: Notes Davey’s resilience and the hard lessons on money, joking “I could easily see him becoming a fine accountant one day.”
  • Lydia Osborne: Asks the pragmatic, “How on earth was debtor’s prison supposed to work?”
  • Pam Shroud: Marvels at the adult burdens Davey faces at such a young age.

2. Debtors’ Prisons: Historical Context

[08:30–16:00]

• What Were Debtors’ Prisons?
  • Faith explains the origins and realities of debtor incarcerations, referencing History Extra magazine.
  • Notable quote:

    "This concept of locking people up who were in debt, it dates back to medieval times… But in the 18th and 19th centuries, there were so many people in prison for debt that prisons specifically for debtors were established."
    — Faith Moore [09:20]

  • Not all prisons were grim: the better-off could live with special privileges. The poor, however, could starve and die, as conditions varied widely.
  • Memorable historical fact: “People could end up spending decades in debtors prison because… their debts could increase while they were in prison.” [15:00]

3. Dickens’s Own Childhood Reflected in the Novel

[16:00–22:00]

• Dickens’s Autobiographical Influence:
  • Faith describes how Dickens mirrored his life in this section:
    • As a child, Dickens’s father went to Marshalsea debtor’s prison; Dickens’s mother and siblings moved in, while Dickens worked in a blacking factory.
    • Faith reads Dickens’s own words describing the factory:

      “The Blacking Warehouse was the last house on the left hand side of the way at Old Hungerford Staircase. It was a crazy tumbledown old house... literally overrun with rats.” [19:10]

  • David Copperfield echoes this almost verbatim, underscoring Dickens’s trauma and the emotional authenticity behind David’s suffering.

4. Social Mobility & Childhood Labor in the Victorian Era

[22:00–26:30]

• Not typical for a middle-class child to be sent to work at age 9 or 10—Davy’s fate is a steep social fall.
• Notable quote:

  “Lower class boys… would certainly be sent out to work… but a middle class boy of 9 or 10 is supposed to be at school. So Davey has now fallen down the social ladder…”
  — Faith Moore [23:00]

• David’s fear is not only of labor, but permanent loss of social and intellectual opportunity.

5. The Macawbers: Character Study

[26:30–33:00]

• Integrity Amid Hardship:
  • The Macawbers’ refusal to take Davy’s money speaks to their underlying decency.
  • Mrs. Micawber’s devotion:

    “I Never will desert Mr. Micawber… The pearl necklace and bracelets which I inherited from mamma have been disposed of for less than half their value… But I never will desert Mr. Micawber.” [42:30]

  • Mr. Micawber is depicted as charmingly delusional, living as a gentleman on hope and credit.
  • Faith: “He has no idea what will turn up. We have no idea. And on he goes, Tra la, Tra la or whatever.” [31:45]
  • Their relationship with Davy is a bittersweet source of comfort for him—more surrogate than true guardians.

Chapter 12 Read-Aloud & Commentary

6. Mr. Micawber’s Release and Emotional Farewell

[33:00–39:30]

• Mr. Micawber is released from prison via the Insolvent Debtors Act (“essentially like declaring bankruptcy”).
• Emotional departures and lingering mutual fondness; Mrs. Micawber’s melodrama at saying goodbye.
• Touching quote:

  “I never will desert Mr. Micawber, no, I never will do it, it’s of no use asking me.” [38:12]

7. Mr. Micawber’s Life Advice

[40:00–43:00]

• Memorable Micawberisms:
  • “Never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time. Collar him.” [41:54]
  • “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.” [42:25]

8. Davy’s Desperation and Determination

[43:00–51:00]

• Davy is crushed at being abandoned by the only friends he has; resolves to run away to his aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood, the only family he can turn to.
• Touching moment: Mrs. Micawber’s motherly kiss as they part.

  “She beckoned to me to climb up with quite a new and motherly expression on her face, and put her arm round my neck and gave me just such a kiss as she might have given to her own boy.” [46:30]

9. A Perilous Escape

[51:00–56:30]

• Davy’s plan to travel to Miss Betsey is set in motion: he gets directions and a small sum from Peggotty.
• Is quickly robbed of his money by a streetwise cart driver—portrayed with dark Dickensian humor.
• Davy sets out, penniless and alone, foreshadowing a new chapter in his young life.

  “I left the young man to go where he would with my box and money… faced about for Greenwich, which I had understood was on the Dover Road, taking very little more out of the world towards the retreat of my Aunt Betsey than I had brought into it on the night when my arrival gave her so much umbrage.” [56:15]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Debtors’ Prison Realities:

  • “For those who were genuinely destitute, conditions could be intolerable… some starved to death… found such appalling treatment of poor debtors that it resulted in the prosecution of a number of prison keepers for murder.” — Faith Moore, quoting History Extra [12:45]

• Dickens’s Painful Memories:

  • “The dirt and decay of the place rise up visibly before me as if I were there again.” — Charles Dickens, quoted by Faith [19:35]

• On Davy’s Social Shame:

  • “The misery it was to my young heart… to believe that what I had learned and thought… would pass away from me… never to be brought back anymore.” — David Copperfield [24:44]

• Mr. Micawber’s Hopefulness (or Delusion):

  • “I have no doubt I shall, please heaven, begin to be beforehand with the world and to live in a perfectly new manner. If, in short, if anything turns up.” — Mr. Micawber [31:30]

• Parting with the Micawbers:

  • “Micawberfield, said Mr. Micawber, farewell, every happiness and prosperity… I should feel that I had not occupied another man’s place in existence altogether in vain.” — Mr. Micawber [45:20]

Episode Timestamps

• Listener Feedback & Recap: 02:15 – 08:30
• What is Debtors’ Prison?: 08:30 – 16:00
• Dickens’s Autobiography in the Novel: 16:00 – 22:00
• The Social Implications of Davy’s Labor: 22:00 – 26:30
• The Macawbers: Analysis & Discussion: 26:30 – 33:00
• Read-Aloud of Chapter 12 Begins: 33:00
• Mr. Micawber’s Advice: 40:00 – 43:00
• Chapter’s End – Davy’s Runaway Plan: 51:00 – 56:30

Final Thoughts

Faith wraps up by encouraging listener engagement and reflecting on the chapter’s cliffhanger: Davy, bereft of the only family he’s known, risks everything to reunite with his mysterious Aunt Betsey. The episode is rich with vivid historical sidebars, emotional reading, and thoughtful listener interaction, making this journey through Dickens as cozy and enlightening as a fireside chat.

For listener notes, questions for Faith, or to join the community, visit faithkmoore.com.