'George Acorn, growing up in extreme poverty in London's East End, scraped together 31/2 d to buy a used copy of David Copperfield. His parents punished him when they learned he had wasted so much money on a book, but later he read it to them: "And how we all loved it, and eventually, when we got to 'Little Em'ly', how we all cried together at poor old Peggotty's distress. The tears united us, deep in misery as we were ourselves".'