Little Dorrit

Introduction

An epic tale of two families in Victorian England and their shifting fortunes by one of the world's greatest novelists.

William Dorrit's Imprisonment

For decades, William Dorrit has been confined to Marshalsea, a debtor's prison, which he cannot leave until he pays what he owes—meanwhile preventing him from getting a job in order to do so.

Amy Dorrit's Life

His daughter Amy, born in Marshalsea, is now old enough to provide some help by earning money as a seamstress, and is free to come and go from the prison as she pleases.

Meeting Arthur Clennam

It is during one of her journeys to the outside world that she meets Arthur Clennam. Amy sews for Arthur's mother, a rigid, emotionally distant woman who is also confined, in this case to a wheelchair.

The Dark Secret and Inheritance

Arthur knows his mother is hiding a dark secret. But while he tries in vain to unearth it, something else is revealed: a large inheritance to which none other than William Dorrit is entitled.

The Novel's Themes

Thus begins a sprawling and beguiling novel of wealth and poverty, suspense and adventure, at once a satirical commentary about the British economic class system and bureaucratic absurdity, an engrossing mystery, and a tribute to the power of love.