Little Dorrit

"Little Dorrit" is a serial novel by Charles Dickens published originally between 1855 and 1857.It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period.

Much of Dickens's ire is focused upon the institutions of debtor's prisons—in which people who owed money were imprisoned, unable to work, until they repaid their debts. The representative prison in this case is the Marshalsea where the author's own father had been imprisoned.

Most of Dickens's other critiques in this particular novel are about other issues with regards to the social safety net: industry, and the treatment and safety of workers; the bureaucracy of the British Treasury (as figured in the fictional "Circumlocution Office" [Bk. 1, Ch. 10] ); and the separation of people based on the lack of intercourse between the classes.

Original publication

"Little Dorrit" was published in 19 monthly installments, each comprising 32 pages and two illustrations by Phiz. Each cost one shilling, with the exception of the last, double-issue, which cost two.

BOOK THE FIRST: POVERTY
* I - December 1855 (chapters 1-4);
* II - January 1856 (chapters 5-8);
* III - February 1856 (chapters 9-11);
* IV - March 1856 (chapters 12-14);
* V - April 1856 (chapters 15-18);
* VI - May 1856 (chapters 19-22);
* VII - June 1856 (chapters 23-25);
* VIII - July 1856 (chapters 26-29);
* IX - August 1856 (chapters 30-32);
* X - September 1856 (chapters 33-36).BOOK THE SECOND: RICHES
* XI - October 1856 (chapters 1-4);
* XII - November 1856 (chapters 5-7);
* XIII - December 1856 (chapters 8-11);
* XIV - January 1857 (chapters 12-14);
* XV - February 1857 (chapters 15-18);
* XVI - March 1857 (chapters 19-22);
* XVII - April 1857 (chapters 23-26);
* XVIII - May 1857 (chapters 27-29);
* XIX-XX - June 1857 (chapters 30-34).

Literary significance and reception

Like many of Dickens's late fiction, this novel has seen many reversals of critical fortune. The novel has been shown to be a critique of HM Treasury and the blunders that led to the loss of life for 360 British Soldiers at the Battle of Balaclava [Philpotts, Trey. "Trevelyan, Treasury, and Circumlocution." "Dickens Studies Annual." 22, 1993, 283-302. ] . It has also been asserted that it is concerned with the Marshalsea Prison as an instance of the Panopticon.

Adaptations

"Little Dorrit" has been adapted for the screen five times. The first three were produced in 1913, 1920, and 1934. The fourth, in 1988, was also for a feature film, "Little Dorrit". The fifth and latest is a recently announced BBC production, "Little Dorrit", to be written by Andrew Davies [ [http://www.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2006/05/the_busiest_man_in_television.php The Stage / Blogs / TV Today / The Busiest Man in Television? ] ] In May 2008 filming for the scenes set in Marseille (featuring Freema Agyeman, Bill Paterson, Matthew Macfadyen and Janine Duvitski) occurred at Deal Castle [ [http://www.eastkentmercury.co.uk/paper/default.asp?article_id=11325] , [http://www.eastkentmercury.co.uk/news/default.asp?article_id=41330] , [http://www.eastkentmercury.co.uk/paper/default.asp?article_id=10925] ] - other publicised cast-members include James Fleet, Ruth Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Stephane Cornicard, and Amanda Redman. In August 2008, some scenes were shot at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, which is also the site of the Greenwich Wheel.

References

External links

Online editions
*gutenberg|no=963|name=Little Dorrit
*" [http://www.dickens-literature.com/Little_Dorrit/ Little Dorrit] " - Searchable HTML version.
* [http://www.asiaing.com/little-dorrit-by-charles-dickens.html "Little Dorrit"] - PDF version.
* [http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/d/dickens/charles/d54ld/ "Little Dorrit"] - Easy to read HTML version.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=rCr1gNa-Vf8C&dq=little+dorrit&pg=PP1&ots=GXC_R7MD5t&sig=JU1rP5gEpViT6MrMYM6fKLhno58&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dlittle%2Bdorrit%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26aq%3Dt%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26client%3Dfirefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail#PPR1,M1 "Little Dorrit"] - Google Books version of the 1857 Bradbury & Evans edition.