The Personal History of David Copperfield

Thank you.

Whether I turn out to be the hero of my own story

or whether that station will be held by anybody else...

these moments must show.

I entered the world at The Rookery.

Peggotty!

I'm coming. I'm coming.

As I promised. Peggotty promised, see?

I'm coming, my love. Just give me three seconds.

Three seconds is too long.

Where are the towels?

OK. Why do I have this?

I'm panicking. I'm completely panicking. Peggotty, you daft mare.

Now, Peggotty!

I'll be with you in 45 seconds, 45.

Peggotty!

Just breathe. Just keep breathing, my love. I'll be back in two breaths.

Peggotty!

- Just try to pretend it doesn't hurt. - It does.

I know.

To begin my life...

with the beginning of my life.

Mrs David Copperfield, I think?

- Miss Trotwood. You've heard of her? - Yes.

Yes, I believe I've had that pleasure.

Well...

Now you see her.

Might I ask, why Rookery?

When my husband bought the house, he liked to think there were rooks about it.

- And are there? - No!

My late brother all over.

Calls a house a rookery, takes the rooks on trust.

A better name would have been Gullible Manor.

- Will this person be stopping, ma'am? - Now, Peggotty.

Peggotty? Peggotty? Peggotty?

You mean to say a human being went into a church and had herself named Peggotty?

Did your mother sneeze when you were christened?

- Sorry, what was your name? - Trotwood.

Trotwood. It's funny because I thought your name was Pot Kettle Black when you walked in,

but never mind.

Ah! Here she comes. Here comes the girl.

- Or it could be... a boy! - Oh, no, no, no. She will be a girl.

Certain to be a girl.

And, may I beg you, you will call her Betsey Trotwood Copperfield

and I will be her godmother.

And there will be no mistakes in the life of this Betsey Trotwood.

There will be no trifling with her affections, poor dear.

Bless me, you're very young.

We need a nurse and a doctor.

- We're here. - Hello.

- Come on, my love. - Nice and slow.

- We're going to need towels. - I have lots of towels.

Go nice and slow. Very good, very good.

I record that I was born on a Friday at 12 o'clock at night.

- Is that it? Is it over? - Wonderful news! Fabulous news!

- Doctor, tell Miss Trotwood the news. - How is she, Doctor?

She is as comfortable as any young mother can be.

No, I mean how is she, the baby? How is she?

It's a boy, ma'am. I'm very happy to congratulate you.

Why congratulate? The boy is the first of twins and his sister being born as we speak?

No. It's just one boy.

Ludicrous.

Look at you, Baby Davy.

Face like a peach.

I'm very fond of peaches.

Yes, I am. Yes, I am.

I remember Peggotty's rough fingers, like a pocket nutmeg grater.

Are you smiling?

Almost there.

Everything looked terribly tall to me.

Charge!

Take this, you naughty monster rabbit!

I see my father's gravestone,

shadowed by trees bending to one another in the wind,

like giants whispering secrets.

"Crocodiles can be found in Africa, the Americas and Australia."

- What a remarkable vegetable. - Not vegetable, reptile.

No, I tell you, a crocodile is a potato.

It has some scales and they have spikes.

Well, what a world of gammon and spinach it is.

I can easily recall people of strong character...

What did Peggotty say when you were little, the one you liked?

- A world of gammon and spinach. - That's a good one. I'll put that one down.

Do you remember everything she says?

It's hard to forget.

That's true.

And weave their memory into the life I was about to lead.

- All packed for the journey, Peggotty? - Yes, ma'am.

Uh, here.

You should always go in the middle, Davy, if you want to win noughts and crosses.

The gentleman is here, ma'am, with the black hair and particular manner

who walked you home from church on Sunday.

Yes, thank you, Peggotty.

- Are these your famous geraniums? - Indeed they are.

Oh.

- Do come in. - Ah!

- Carrot down. - You must be the man of the house.

I'm a boy, sir.

Dear boy. Come, shake my hand.

Well, no, that's the wrong hand, isn't it, boy?

Davy.

Well, maybe your way will catch on, hm?

You're a very brave boy.

Davy, my sweet potato.

Let's take you to Yarmouth.

My brother is driving us there.

Look at all that sky, eh, Davy boy.

That's too much sky, innit? Even for a bird.

If the world is really as round as my geography book says it is,

how can this bit of it be so flat?

Not to your liking, Davy?

There's a molehill there, look. That ain't flat.

- There's a bird there. That ain't flat. - A flower there. That ain't flat.

It's flat here, it's flat here and it's flat, OK?

All right, maybe you're right. It is a bit flat.

Ooh, nearly at the harbour.

That's where Ham and Emily work.

It's four. I've done my gutting.

It's four already? These are ready to go, yeah.

Hey!

There we go.

I turn my back for a second, Ham, and you sprout like a beanstalk.

Oh, I forgot how hard you squeeze, Peggotty.

- You'll have the marrow out my bones. - She's a human mangle, that woman.

Master Davy, Ham. Ham, Master Davy.

- Pleased to meet you, Ham. - I'm... Master Davy.

Likewise. Let's show you where we live, eh?

- Is Emily here? - No, it's four. She's...

- She's done gutting. - Yeah, done gutting.

Davy, hop up. Come on.

Careful with him.

Wait till you see this.

That's where we all live, Davy boy.

- It's amazing. - It's no mansion.

It's a downside-upside capsized boat.

It's Aladdin's palace!

We'll be like spiders trapped under a teacup!

Digs for joy, that boy. Finds it too.

Peggotty.

This place is amazing.

Davy, come look at this.

- And this is where you'll be sleeping. - Do you like it, then, Davy?

Yeah, what do you think, Master Copperfield?

I think this is the most desirable bedroom I've ever seen.

Desirable.

I love your words, Davy.

- Peggotty says your mother's a lady. - Emily, mind your manners! This is Emily.

- Hello. - Hello.

Are Ham and Emily your children?

No, they're adopted. Both their fathers was drownded.

Oh, Ham. Not another mouth to feed!

Let me die and be a riddance.

That's Mrs Gummidge. Her husband drownded too.

There's a lot of drownding goes on.

How's that? You can't complain about a nice bit of kipper.

You just watch her.

Potatoes are burnt, like coals.

There she goes.

These potatoes could be my last.

- Can I go out onto the beach, Uncle? - Well, have you done your gutting?

- Yes, I've done my gutting. Finished at four. - There's a six-o'clock gutting as well.

- Fish do go off, you know. - Ham, I've been gutting fish since dawn.

- You need to get gutting till it's finished. - Never mind about that.

Go on, but take young Davy with you.

Come on.

Mind you don't get drownded.

What's gutting?

Unless you want hands like mine, you don't wanna know.

Come on.

Is your mother really a lady?

Uh, yes, I think so.

Does she attend to her correspondence and receive callers in the drawing room?

I don't know.

A gentleman with big hands calls to admire our geranium.

I should like to become a lady.

He has two eyebrows.

I say eyebrows rather than eyes cos they're much more important in his face.

Yeah.

Look! Look at this, Davy.

You can see past Yarmouth.

Emily, get down! You'll smash in 20 pieces if you slip off there.

- Hello, Ham! - I'm not scared.

- Hello, Davy. You having a good day? - Yeah.

Dear Mama,

Yarmouth is, upon the whole, the finest place in the universe.

Emily has taught me to skim stones

and I'm only sorry you cannot see it.

She and Ham have become the best friends imaginable.

What? What?

I told them what we decided between us, our news.

- Getting engaged? - Getting engaged, yeah.

- You can just say "getting engaged". - We're engaged.

- Are you happy for us, Uncle? - Happy? I'll tell you how happy I am.

I'm happy as a dog with two bones.

And as the owner who discovers

that the hole the bones was dug from is full of gold watches.

- Oh, oh, and money! - And money.

Yeah, that's how happy I am.

- Everybody should get married. - Yeah!

Let's be having you!