This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(November 2022) |
Dora Spenlow | |
---|---|
David Copperfield character | |
Created by | Charles Dickens |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Female |
Family | Francis Spenlow (father) Clarissa Spenlow (aunt) Lavinia Spenlow (aunt) David Copperfield (husband) |
Religion | Christianity |
Nationality | British |
Dora Spenlow is a character in the 1850 novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. She is beautiful but childish. David, who is employed by her father, the lawyer Mr Spenlow, falls in love with Dora at first sight and marries her. She proves unable to cope with the responsibilities of married life and is more interested in playing with her dog, Jip, than in keeping their house. All this has a profound effect on David, but he still loves her. A year into their marriage, she suffers a miscarriage; her health steadily declines until she dies.
In 1830, Dickens met his first love, Maria Beadnell, thought to have been the model for the character Dora in David Copperfield. Maria's parents disapproved of the courtship and ended the relationship by sending her to school in Paris. [1]
Charles Dickens named his daughter Dora Annie Dickens after the character on her birth in 1850, but she died the following year at the age of eight months.
Dora has been portrayed by several actresses in numerous adaptations. She was first most notably depicted in the 1935 film adaptation by Maureen O'Sullivan. Pamela Franklin portrayed her in the 1969 adaptation, the first feature film depiction since the 1935 film, and the last for 50 years. Spenlow is played by Morfydd Clark in Armando Iannucci’s 2019 adaptation, The Personal History of David Copperfield . Dora's role in the film differs greatly from the novel, with Dora realising that she is not a good match for Copperfield and asking him to "write her out" of his story (the eponymous “Personal History”), so breaking off their engagement.
The BBC has adapted the novel four times, each with a different actress in the role of Spenlow. She was first portrayed in the 1956 adaptation by Sheila Shand Gibbs, although no recording of the production is thought to exist. Tina Packer played Dora in 1966. Only four episodes are known to exist, three of which (8, 9 and 11) feature Dora, including the character's miscarriage. She was depicted as more comically childlike in this version than most others, pronouncing her rs as ws in some scenes.
The first BBC adaptation still to exist entirely and the first one made in colour is the 1974 serial, where she is portrayed by Beth Morris. In the 1999 miniseries she is portrayed by Joanna Page.
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today.
David Copperfield is a 1935 American film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer based upon Charles Dickens' 1850 novel The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger.
David Copperfield is a novel by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to maturity. As such, it is typically categorized in the bildungsroman genre. It was published as a serial in 1849 and 1850 and then as a book in 1850.
David Copperfield is the protagonist after which the 1850 Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield was named. The character is widely thought to be based on Dickens himself, incorporating many elements of his own life.
David Copperfield is a 2000 American-Irish made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1850 novel of the same name. It was filmed in Ireland, and broadcast on TNT as a Hallmark Entertainment production on 10–11 December 2000.
David Copperfield is a two-part BBC television drama adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1850 novel of the same name, written by Adrian Hodges. The first part was shown on Christmas Day 1999 and the second part the following day.
David Copperfield is a 1969 British-American international co-production television film directed by Delbert Mann based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Charles Dickens, adapted by Jack Pulman. The film was released in the UK in 1970. It stars Robin Phillips in the title role and Ralph Richardson as Micawber, and features well-known actors Richard Attenborough, Laurence Olivier, Susan Hampshire, Cyril Cusack, Wendy Hiller, Edith Evans, Michael Redgrave and Ron Moody.
Micawber is a 2001 ITV comedy drama series starring David Jason. It was written by John Sullivan, based upon the character of Wilkins Micawber from Charles Dickens' 1850 novel David Copperfield, although the storylines were original.
Edward Murdstone is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the first part of the Charles Dickens 1850 novel David Copperfield, secondary to Uriah Heep in the second part.
James Thornton is an English actor and voice-over artist. He portrayed John Barton in the British soap opera Emmerdale from 2009 to 2012; he previously appeared in the show in 1995.
Dora Annie Dickens was the infant daughter of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. She was the ninth of their ten children, and the youngest of their three daughters.
David Copperfield is a 1911 American silent short drama film based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Charles Dickens. It is the oldest known film adaptation of the novel.
David Copperfield is a 1913 British black-and-white silent film based on the 1850 novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. It is the second-oldest known film adaptation of the novel. Running six reels, it is significant as a very early British feature film at a moment when the world film industry was beginning its move away from traditional short films towards longer and more ambitious works.
David Copperfield is a BBC television serial starring Ian McKellen in the title role of the adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1850 novel that began airing in January 1966. It also featured Tina Packer as Dora Flora Robson as Betsey Trotwood, Gordon Gostelow as Barkis, and Christopher Guard as young David. The screenplay adaptation was written by Vincent Tilsley, who had previously helmed the 1956 adaptation almost a decade prior.
David Copperfield is a 10 episode BBC serial broadcast between 19 October and 21 December 1986 and based on the 1850 novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The series was written by James Andrew Hall and directed by Barry Letts. It was produced by Terrance Dicks.
David Copperfield is a 1922 Danish drama film directed by A.W. Sandberg and starring Gorm Schmidt, Martin Herzberg and Margarete Schlegel.
Mr. Dick, whose full name is Richard Babley, is a character in the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield and its many adaptions. His main role in the story is as a wise fool – amiable and innocent but also perceptive and effective.
Agnes Wickfield is a character of David Copperfield, the 1850 novel by Charles Dickens. She is a friend and confidante of David since his childhood and at the end of the novel, his second wife. In Dickens' language, she is the "real heroine" of the novel.
The Personal History of David Copperfield is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Armando Iannucci, based on the 1850 novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. It stars Dev Patel as the title character, along with Aneurin Barnard, Peter Capaldi, Morfydd Clark, Daisy May Cooper, Rosalind Eleazar, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw and Paul Whitehouse.
David Copperfield is a 1956 BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1850 novel, serialised in 13 episodes. No recordings of this production are known to exist.