Betsey Trotwood is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

from

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' 1850 novel ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

''.

Role in novel

Betsey Trotwood is David Copperfield's great-aunt on his father's side, and has an unfavourable view of men and boys, having been ill-used and abandoned by a worthless husband earlier in life. She appears in the novel's first chapter, where she demonstrates her uncommon personality and her dislike of boys when she storms out of the house after hearing that David's mother has had a son, rather than the daughter to whom Trotwood intended to be the godmother.Dickens, Charles 'David Copperfield' Published by Bradbury & Evans (1850) Betsey plays a bigger role in David's later life by taking him in after he has run away from labelling wine bottles in the factory in

Blackfriars Blackfriars, derived from Black Friars, a common name for the Dominican Order of friars, may refer to: England * Blackfriars, Bristol, a former priory in Bristol * Blackfriars, Canterbury, a former monastery in Kent * Blackfriars, Gloucester, a f ...

where his stepfather,

Edward Murdstone Edward Murdstone (commonly known as Mr. 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. Fictional character bi ...

, had placed him to work after the death of David's mother. She provides him with a place at a good school in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and opportunities for a career in

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...

, thus showing her complex character.

Origin

The character is based on Miss Mary Pearson Strong who lived at Broadstairs,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and who died on 14 January 1855; she is buried in the St. Peter's-in-Thanet churchyard. Her sister Ann married Stephen Nuckell, who was a prominent bookseller in Broadstairs from around 1796 to 1822. Mary Pearson Strong's former home now hosts Broadstairs' Dickens House Museum.

Legacy

There is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in Clerkenwell, Central London, called The Betsey Trotwood. It adopted the name in 1983, having previously been ''The Butcher's Arms''. The city of

Trotwood, Ohio Trotwood is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States and is a suburb of Dayton. The population was 24,431 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is served by the Trotwood-Madison City Sc ...

is named after the character.Trotwood Area Chamber of Commerce
- History of Trotwood

Film and television portrayals

References

Literary characters introduced in 1850 David Copperfield characters Fictional housewives Female characters in film Female characters in literature {{novel-char-stub