# Little Dorrit — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens.

- [Preface to the 1857 Edition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/preface-to-the-1857-edition.md): In this preface, Dickens reflects on the two years he spent writing Little Dorrit, defending the exaggerated portrayals of the Barnacles, the Circumlocution Office, and Mr. Merdle as grounded in real English experiences 
- [Little Dorrit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/little-dorrit.md): Arthur Clennam returns to London after many years abroad and becomes entangled with the mysterious affairs of his mother's house. He encounters the impoverished Dorrit family, particularly the gentle and selfless Amy Dor
- [Book I: Poverty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/book-i-poverty.md): The chapter introduces the impoverished world of the Marshalsea debtors' prison and the Dorrit family, focusing on Little Dorrit's quiet devotion to her father, William Dorrit, the 'Father of the Marshalsea.' Arthur Clen
- [Sun and Shadow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/i-sun-and-shadow.md): The chapter opens in a Marseilles prison cell where Monsieur Rigaud and John Baptist Cavalletto are confined. Rigaud recounts his version of the events leading to his imprisonment, claiming he married Madame Barronneau a
- [Fellow Travellers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/ii-fellow-travellers.md): Arthur Clennam, newly returned from exile in China after his father's death, meets Mr. Meagles and his family during quarantine in Marseilles. Mr. Meagles shares his family's travels and introduces his daughter Pet and t

> 69 more chapter companions — [open a free preview](https://www.betterreads.dev/reader?bookId=little_dorrit_se_1376kb&preview=1) to unlock the rest.

- [Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/iii-home.md)
- [Mrs. Flintwinch Has a Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/iv-mrs-flintwinch-has-a-dream.md)
- [Family Affairs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/v-family-affairs.md)
- [The Father of the Marshalsea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/vi-the-father-of-the-marshalsea.md)
- [The Child of the Marshalsea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/vii-the-child-of-the-marshalsea.md)
- [VIII: The Lock](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/viii-the-lock.md)
- [Little Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/ix-little-mother.md)
- [Containing the Whole Science of Government](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/x-containing-the-whole-science-of-government.md)
- [XI: Let Loose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xi-let-loose.md)
- [Bleeding Heart Yard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xii-bleeding-heart-yard.md)
- [Patriarchal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xiii-patriarchal.md)
- [Little Dorrit's Party](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xiv-little-dorrit-s-party.md)
- [XV: Mrs. Flintwinch Has Another Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xv-mrs-flintwinch-has-another-dream.md)
- [Nobody's Weakness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xvi-nobody-s-weakness.md)
- [Nobody's Rival](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xvii-nobody-s-rival.md)
- [Little Dorrit's Lover](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xviii-little-dorrit-s-lover.md)
- [The Father of the Marshalsea in Two or Three Relations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xix-the-father-of-the-marshalsea-in-two-or-three-relations.md)
- [Moving in Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xx-moving-in-society.md)
- [Mr. Merdle's Complaint](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxi-mr-merdle-s-complaint.md)
- [A Puzzle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxii-a-puzzle.md)
- [Machinery in Motion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxiii-machinery-in-motion.md)
- [Fortune-Telling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxiv-fortune-telling.md)
- [Conspirators and Others](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxv-conspirators-and-others.md)
- [Nobody's State of Mind](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxvi-nobody-s-state-of-mind.md)
- [Five-and-Twenty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxvii-five-and-twenty.md)
- [Nobody's Disappearance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxviii-nobody-s-disappearance.md)
- [Mrs. Flintwinch Goes on Dreaming](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxix-mrs-flintwinch-goes-on-dreaming.md)
- [The Word of a Gentleman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxx-the-word-of-a-gentleman.md)
- [Spirit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxi-spirit.md)
- [More Fortune-Telling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxii-more-fortune-telling.md)
- [Mrs. Merdle's Complaint](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxiii-mrs-merdle-s-complaint.md)
- [A Shoal of Barnacles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxiv-a-shoal-of-barnacles.md)
- [What Was Behind Mr. Pancks on Little Dorrit's Hand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxv-what-was-behind-mr-pancks-on-little-dorrit-s-hand.md)
- [The Marshalsea Becomes an Orphan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxvi-the-marshalsea-becomes-an-orphan.md)
- [Book II: Riches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/book-ii-riches.md)
- [Fellow Travellers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/i-fellow-travellers.md)
- [Mrs. General](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/ii-mrs-general.md)
- [On the Road](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/iii-on-the-road.md)
- [A Letter from Little Dorrit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/iv-a-letter-from-little-dorrit.md)
- [Something Wrong Somewhere](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/v-something-wrong-somewhere.md)
- [Something Right Somewhere](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/vi-something-right-somewhere.md)
- [Mostly, Prunes and Prism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/vii-mostly-prunes-and-prism.md)
- [The Dowager Mrs. Gowan Is Reminded That "It Never Does"](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/viii-the-dowager-mrs-gowan-is-reminded-that-it-never-does.md)
- [Appearance and Disappearance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/ix-appearance-and-disappearance.md)
- [X: The Dreams of Mrs. Flintwinch Thicken](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/x-the-dreams-of-mrs-flintwinch-thicken.md)
- [A Letter from Little Dorrit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xi-a-letter-from-little-dorrit.md)
- [In Which a Great Patriotic Conference Is Holden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xii-in-which-a-great-patriotic-conference-is-holden.md)
- [The Progress of an Epidemic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xiii-the-progress-of-an-epidemic.md)
- [Taking Advice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xiv-taking-advice.md)
- [No Just Cause or Impediment Why These Two Persons Should Not Be Joined Together](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xv-no-just-cause-or-impediment-why-these-two-persons-should-not-be-joined-together.md)
- [Getting On](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xvi-getting-on.md)
- [Missing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xvii-missing.md)
- [XVIII: A Castle in the Air](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xviii-a-castle-in-the-air.md)
- [The Storming of the Castle in the Air](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xix-the-storming-of-the-castle-in-the-air.md)
- [Introduces the Next](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xx-introduces-the-next.md)
- [The History of a Self-Tormentor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxi-the-history-of-a-self-tormentor.md)
- [Who Passes by This Road So Late?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxii-who-passes-by-this-road-so-late.md)
- [Mistress Affery Makes a Conditional Promise, Respecting Her Dreams](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxiii-mistress-affery-makes-a-conditional-promise-respecting-her-dreams.md)
- [The Evening of a Long Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxiv-the-evening-of-a-long-day.md)
- [XXV: The Chief Butler Resigns the Seals of Office](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxv-the-chief-butler-resigns-the-seals-of-office.md)
- [Reaping the Whirlwind](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxvi-reaping-the-whirlwind.md)
- [The Pupil of the Marshalsea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxvii-the-pupil-of-the-marshalsea.md)
- [An Appearance in the Marshalsea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxviii-an-appearance-in-the-marshalsea.md)
- [XXIX: A Plea in the Marshalsea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxix-a-plea-in-the-marshalsea.md)
- [XXX: Closing In](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxx-closing-in.md)
- [Closed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxi-closed.md)
- [Going](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxii-going.md)
- [Going!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxiii-going.md)
- [Gone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters/xxxiv-gone.md)

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/little_dorrit_se/chapters