Little Dorrit
Summary

Little Dorrit was published in monthly instalments between 1855 and 1857. It contains numerous subtle criticisms of the government and society of Dickens’ time: notably in the so-called "Circumlocution Office" that satirises government bodies in the Victorian age whose officials did nothing, slowly, and are represented in the character of Barnacles. William Dorrit is a man who has been imprisoned in the Marshalsea prison for debtors for so long that he has gained the nickname ‘The Father of Marshalsea". His suffering and indignity in the prison is made less painful by the adoration of his youngest daughter, Amy (the "Little Dorrit" of the title), though less so by daughter Fanny and son Tip. The hero of the tale is Arthur Clenham, a middle-aged man for whom Little Dorrit feels a great passion that he does not immediately requite. The story follows their luck in receiving a fortune and becoming affluent and - with the clear exception of Little Dorrit - arrogant. It also shows how outside prison walls there can exist equally confining prisons of our own making, particularly due to aspiration. Clenham ends up in the debtor’s prison where Little Dorrit looks after him and there emerges an interesting but complex mystery concerning Clenham’s gloomy and religious mother, her partner, conspiracy and a will that has not benefited its rightful beneficiaries. As ever in Dickens, there is a cast of intriguing secondary characters such as the decent Pancks and Merdle the swindling banker.

Table of contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34

  By PanEris using Melati.

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