David Copperfield was born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk, in the east of England. Saldly, he never met his father because he died six months before David was born. David's mother was much younger than this husband and suddenly, she found she was with a baby and without a husband.
Miss Betsey was David father's aunt and she hadn't spoken to him since he had been married because she thought it was a mistake marrying with a very young girl. But when she heard that David's mother was expecting a baby, she came to visit Blunderstone. She wanted to help Clara, David's mother, with the baby while she was sure that it was going to be a girl. Then, David was born and after that, she never came back to the house.
David's childhood was happy. His mother and Peggotty, the Copperfield's servant, were very kind with him. When he was about eight, his mother started to go out with a gentleman called Mr Murdstone. A few months later, Peggotty and David went to stay with her brother in Yarmouth a short holiday while Clara had been marrying Mr Murdstone. After the trip, Peggotty told David the real reason why Clara had done in this period of time. David was shocked and when they arrived at home, he didn't speak anything with his mother, so she got sad. But then, his stepfather told him that if he didn't obey him, he would beat him. Since this, David was very afraid of his stepfather.
A few days later, Mr Murdstone's sister arrived to help Clara in the house but finally, she stayed with them for a long time and she also took complete control of the house, keeping the keys and checking that everything was being done just as she wished.