Dora Spenlow is a character in the 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 ...

'' by

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 ...

. She is portrayed as beautiful yet 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. However, a year into their marriage, she suffers a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

and her health steadily declines until she eventually dies. Charles Dickens named his daughter

Dora Annie Dickens Dora Annie Dickens (16 August 1850 – 14 April 1851) 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. Life Born at 1 Devonshi ...

after the character on her birth in 1850, but she died the following year at the age of eight months.

Portrayals

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 Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...

Pamela Franklin Pamela Franklin (born 3 February 1950) is a British former actress. She is best known for her role in the film '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969), for which she won a NBR Award and received a BAFTA Award nomination. Franklin made her a ...

portrayed her in the 1969 adaptation, the first feature film depiction since the 1935 film, and the last for fifty years. Spenlow is played by

Morfydd Clark Morfydd Clark (born ) is a Welsh actress. She is best known for her role as Galadriel in the Amazon Prime fantasy series '' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'' (2022–). She received a number of accolades for her performance in the film ...

in Armando Iannucci's 2019 adaptation, ''

The Personal History of David Copperfield ''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 B ...

''. Dora's role in the film differs somewhat 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, breaking off their engagement. The BBC has adapted the novel four times, each time 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 still exist. Tina Packer played Dora almost exactly a decade later in 1966, although only four episodes are known to exist, three of which (8, 9 and 11) feature Dora, including the character's tragic miscarriage. She was depicted as much more comically childlike in this version than most others, pronouncing her ''r''s as ''w''s in some scenes. The first BBC adaptation to exist entirely and the first one made in colour is the 1974 serial, where she is portrayed by

Beth Morris Bethan "Beth" Morris (19 July 1943 – 1 March 2018) was a Welsh actress. Born in Gorseinon and a lifetime native of Swansea, she was probably best known for her performance as Julia Drusilla in the 1976 BBC adaptation of ''I, Claudius''. Her ...

. In the 1999 miniseries, Welsh actress

Joanna Page Joanna Louise Page (born 23 March 1977) is a Welsh actress and presenter. She appeared as Stacey Shipman in the BAFTA-winning television series ''Gavin & Stacey''. She played Dora Spenlow in the 1999 adaptation of ''David Copperfield'', and ...

played the character.

References

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The Oxford Companion to English Literature ''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' first published in 1932, edited by the retired diplomat Sir Paul Harvey (1869–1948), was the earliest of the Oxford Companions to appear. It is currently in its seventh edition (2009), edited by D ...

'' (ed.

Margaret Drabble Dame Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd, (born 5 June 1939) is an English biographer, novelist and short story writer. Drabble's books include '' The Millstone'' (1965), which won the following year's John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, and ''Jer ...

, Oxford 2000) {{DEFAULTSORT:Spenlow, Dora Literary characters introduced in 1850 Spenlow, Dora Female characters in literature