Little Dorrit (Wordsworth Classics) [Paperback]

One of the most glorious achievements of publishing in our time --The Daily Telegraph

It will never be more possible for a more complete and perfect edition to be put on the market --Arthur Waugh, Past President, Dickens Fellowship

It will never be more possible for a more complete and perfect edition to be put on the market --Arthur Waugh, Past President, Dickens Fellowship --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

A novel in which Dickens launches a ferocious onslaught against England and English society. He draws on the memory of his father in his depiction of the Marshalsea debtors prison and there is also the story of the love between an older man and a younger woman. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

This Wordsworth Edition 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.

For all of her twenty-two years, Amy Dorrit has lived in Marshalsea prison, trapped there with her family because of her father's debts. Her 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 a kind-hearted interest in poor little Amy. But when it is unexpectedly discovered that her father is heir to a fortune, some shocking truths emerge and Amy's life changes for ever.

This special edition features an exclusive introduction by the highly-acclaimed writer and novelist Peter Ackroyd, one of Britain's leading literary biographers.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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.