Product Description

Little Dorrit (1857) centres around the Dorrit family. William Dorrit is a long-term inmate of the Marshalsea prison for debtors (where Dickens's own father spent some time). He derives comfort from the presence of his daughter Amy, 'Little Dorrit', who was born in the prison. It is unexpectedly discovered that William is heir to a fortune, and, with the notable exception of Amy, the family becomes arrogant and purse-proud as a consequence. As paupers, Old Dorrit and Amy were befriended by Arthus Clenman; when Clenman in his turn is imprisoned for debt Amy looks after him. Yet wealth presents a consistent obstacle to their union. Clenman's family history is also the key to an elaborate mystery in which the Dorrits are involved.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19212 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 848 pages

Synopsis
This novel includes an introduction and notes by Peter Preston, University of Nottingham, with Illustrations by Hablot K. Browne (Phiz). "Little Dorrit" is a classic tale of imprisonment, both literal and metaphorical, while Dickens' working title for the novel, "Nobody's Fault", highlights its concern with personal responsibility in private and public life. Dickens' childhood experiences inform the vivid scenes in Marshalsea debtor's prison, while his adult perceptions of governmental failures shape his satirical picture of the Circumlocution Office. The novel's range of characters - the honest, the crooked, the selfish and the self-denying - offers a portrait of society about whose values Dickens had profound doubts.

About the Author
Michael Slater is Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College in the University of London. He was editor of The Dickensian (1968-77) and President of the International Dickens Fellowship (1988-90). He has published many books and articles on Dickens.

Customer Reviews

One of the six truly great Dickens novels
Long neglected, this has become deservedly popular after the brilliant TV adaptation. A panoramic picture of Victorian society, showing how poverty gives rise to riches and riches give way to integrity.

A great work long unnoticed
"Bleak House" may have been masterfully managed, but I preferred this tense tale of poverty, riches and the parasitic class that breeds both. It is as cautionary a tale as the former: the role of the machinery of government and capitalist class on the lives of all under them has never been so powerfully depicted. Mr Merdle was based on a real person, a Sadlier who killed himself in Hyde Park when he caused the Tipperary Bank to fail. Amy Dorrit is to be preferred to Esther Summerson as a heroine in not being so off-puttingly and impossibly sweet. Dickens' mastery of plot is such to create an exciting mystery and a rich interweaving of character and plot that kept me up all night unravelling the puzzle.