Little Dorrit is a classic tale of imprisonment that was published in 1857. Upon publication it immediately outsold any of Dickens’s previous books. The story is set around William Dorrit, imprisoned for debt in Marshalsea Prison, and his daughter and helpmate, Amy, or ‘Little Dorrit’. The novel charts the progress of the Dorrit family from poverty to riches. Amy’s only escape is to work as a seamstress for the kind Mrs Clennam. When Mrs Clennam’s son Arthur returns to England after many years abroad, he takes an interest in Amy. However, when it is unexpectedly discovered that her father is heir to a fortune, some shocking secrets unfold and Amy’s life changes forever.

Little Dorrit has been adapted into a BBC Television Series and even won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series.

Interesting Fact:

The TV series was filmed in the following locations: Chenies Manor House, Luton Hoo, and Hellfire Caves in Buckinghamshire; Deal Castle in Kent; Hampton Court Palace in Surrey as the Marshalsea; and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

Suggestion: Year 10 Bushey Meads Students may wish to add this to their ‘Summer Reading List’. It will help with wider reading of Charles Dickens and a deeper understanding of class and social division.