Charles Dickens' novel Little Dorrit originally appeared in serialized form between 1855 and 1857. Government and society at large are satirized with a specific focus on debtors' prisons, which incarcerated those in debt who were unable to pay, rendering them unable to work and keeping them imprisoned until they were able to pay. The prison in Little Dorrit is Marshalsea, where at one time the father of Charles Dickens was imprisoned.
The first part of the novel, "Poverty," introduces William Dorrit, who is an unsuccessful businessman but a gentleman of good character. He is sent to the Marshalsea debtors' prison in London when he is unable to meet his obligations to his creditors. The law allows for Dorrit's family to live in his cell with him, so his wife and their two children, Fanny and Tip, join him. They have an additional child, Amy, who is born in prison. Amy is given the nickname Little Dorrit because of her small size. Her father's fellow inmates and the prison's warden pamper her.
The mother of Little Dorrit dies when Little Dorrit is eight years old. This loss is followed within a few years by the death of Mrs. Bangham, who helped deliver her, and of the jailer who was also close to the young girl. After the warden dies, William Dorrit becomes known as the father of the Marshalsea, and Little Dorrit, who has turned sixteen, is called the daughter of the Marshalsea. Little Dorrit takes on the responsibility of financially supporting her family by doing sewing work.
The second part of the book, "Wealth," finds the Dorrit family regaining its social status and taking a trip through Europe. With the exception of Little Dorrit, the family adopts an air of superiority. William is critical of his once favored Little Dorrit for not fitting into the high society of which they are now apart. He also plots to marry her off to a member of the upper class, while she remains in love with Arthur Clennam. This marriage does not happen as William dies, and Little Dorrit goes to live with her sister and her husband, Edmund Sparkler. The family's financial good fortune does not last long as Edmund squanders it in an investment gone badly. Arthur Clennam is financially ruined as well and along with the Dorrit family, ends up in the Marshalsea debtors' prison.
A French fugitive from justice discovers that Arthur is not actually Mrs. Clennam's son but his father's illegitimate child. Arthur married Mrs. Clennam under pressure from a wealthy uncle and they raised Arthur as their own child. The guilty uncle, in an attempt to ease his conscience, left his estate to Mrs. Clennam and the youngest daughter, who is Little Dorrit, as the uncle had no children of his own. Mrs. Clennam tells Little Dorrit the secrets of her past and the house begins to fall around her. Not wanting to upset Arthur with the truth about his mother, Little Dorrit keeps it secret and in so doing, does not claim the inheritance. The story ends with an event that might be considered contrived. A wealthy business partner of Arthur's arrives from Turkey and Arthur is freed from prison and marries Little Dorrit.
