'Little Dorrit' readalong

Actually, Desdemona, I only drop in on the 50-bookers threads from time to time, so was wondering what DNF meant on that thread! I hope we all get to finish 'Little Dorrit'. I think we'll deserve a medal if we do, or perhaps an ornate pocket watch!!

Yes, that plot twist seemed rather contrived. 'Off you go Pancks, like a good terrier. See what you can unearth on the Dorrits...' I was thinking it would be related to the Clennams too. Pancks' behaviour was very stalkerish for a while, I thought, following Amy around and winking at her.

Ah, you are all very innocent (re lesbian reference) apart from Piggy and myself!

Another one who missed the lesbian references, it's all a bit too subtle for me!

I was getting my Merdles and Meagles mixed up this month. Must try harder.

I agree that the Dorrit's, with the exception of Amy, are pretty awful people and I can't see this change of fortune will improve their characters. I too was surprised that they'd escaped the Marshalsea so soon, and I'm still not quite sure how this reversal came about. Arthur employs Pancks to do some digging on their situation and he conveniently, and quickly, discovers that Dorrit Senior is heir to a large unclaimed fortune. Whose will? Why was it not known before?

I had assumed any reversal in the Dorrits fortune would be linked to the double dealings of the Clennam family being uncovered.

Any other 50 Bookers immediately think 'Did Not Finish' when the initials DNF were inscribed on the watch

He’s very clever and subtle, isn’t he? I mean, it could just be all about illegitimate birth, but it could also be hinting at something Sapphic..

I’m only surprised no one has latched on to this and written a sub-Sarah Waters swirly-covered Harriet and Miss Wade romance.

Oh, and I didn’t spot the lesbian reference, but I’m definitely team Tattycoram. I wouldn’t fancy the chances of anyone who told me to count to five-and-twenty when I was in a rage.

Hope you feel better soon Piggy. Enjoy languishing, just… don’t get started on the laudanum

Two moments stood out for me this month. First, when Fanny and Mr Dorrit got upset with Amy for walking arm in arm with A Pauper (the horror!). The other Dorrits are desperately and unattractively clinging on to what scraps of status they have, while only Amy acknowledges the reality of their situation (while always trying to hide it from their father).

The other was when Mrs Merdle told her husband off for looking harassed by his business. ‘I simply request you to care about nothing - or to seem to care about nothing - as everybody else does… Seeming would be quite enough: I ask no more.’ It struck me as a very British attitude to mental distress that is still very current.

Haven't quite made it to chapter 36 yet, on chapter 32 atm, but will be back to read the comments as soon as I have!

I really hope so Piggy 🤞 In the meantime, live your best life as a Victorian lady

Hello! These were interesting chapters with a lot of action, culminating in a complete reversal of fortune for the Dorrits. I was wondering how Mr. Dorrit would feel about giving up his position as Father of the Marshalsea as he seemed to enjoy this status. Will he miss it or relish his freedom and all the new opportunities that this new wealth will bring?

I also don't blame Tattycoram for leaving the Meagles. I think she put up with them for too long (not that she had much choice being orphaned and penniless). I think Dickens is taking a swipe at Mr. Meagles. His intentions may be noble, but he hasn't a clue how to relate to Tatty without treating her like a young child. I was laughing at the covert lesbian reference and wrote 'oo-er!' in the margin of my book :) I don't think Dickens trusts Miss Wade at all. She is clearly Up To No Good where Tatty is concerned.

I enjoyed the Affery/Rigaud chapter. Affery reminds my of a headless chicken when she gets flustered and Rigaud comes across as a sort of pantomime villain, very cloak and dagger with his hooked nose and luxuriant moustache.

I was wondering if Arthur has any backbone, still pining after Pet's pretty face. She is a character who seems to have very little substance, all big innocent eyes and earnestness. I'm sure that Arthur and Amy are meant to be, however! There is still half a book to go!

I'm sorry to hear you were very unwell, Piggy. It sounds like you had a horrendous dose. I really hope you're on the mend.

I enjoyed these chapters. Nice to see something good happen for the Dorrits, although it did seem to go to their heads a bit! (Amy excepted obviously). It’s still not really clear who Rigaud is and what he’s up to.

I also wouldn’t have picked up on the lesbian theme in the Miss Wade chapter! I do feel sorry for Tattycoram.

Get well soon @Piggywaspushed

@Piggywaspushed hope you're feeling better soon.

I did read the chapters in time this month but didn’t get round to sharing my thoughts! I agree Flora is a self-absorbed idiot but I felt more at sympathy for her this month - at 40ish she seems ridiculous flirting with Arthur, but Arthur at the same age is still an eligible bachelor. She was manoeuvred by suicide threats into marrying a man she didn’t love shortly after being forcibly split up from Arthur, and is clearly unhappy and drinks a lot to cope. I’m still enjoying it overall but there was a lack of forward movement this month.

Yes. I think that Arthur and Amy are unusual in that they are the only ones who care a bit about other people.

Poor Amy, her sister and father are self-absorbed idiots and the third self- absorbed idiot, Flora, has likely brought Amy into her home as she doesn't like Arthur's friendship with her and wants to keep her close. Shmoop was definitely my (highly amusing) friend in July.

Chapter 21. Introducing Mr. Merdle. He is very highly esteemed; I suppose you could call him a big-wig! He seems like a quiet, subdued, self-effacing man, unlike his wife. We get the impression that all is not well with him.

Chapter 22. Arthur Clenham might be developing feelings for Amy Dorrit. He thinks about her a lot in the shadow of the prison, though as we have mentioned before, the reference of Amy as 'his poor child' is jarring to a modern-day reader.

We can sense Amy's embarrassed reaction to the begging letters that her father and brother send Arthur via Maggy. She scurries home to them as her presence there keeps them on the straight and narrow. The poor girl can never stray away without feeling guilty.

Chapter 20. Knowing one's place in society and keeping it.

I liked the description of the opera House. I used to play in the orchestra of various musicals and operas and the description of Amy going in through the stage door into the dark cavernous theatre and Frederick in the murky depths of the orchestra pit was very well done.

It occurred to me that Frederick is in another sort of prison, albeit a musical one. He is mouldering away in the depths of the pit, reading from his score, not bothering to lift his eyes from the page to see what's going on around him; a running joke with other performers. He sounds defeated by life.

Fanny Dorrit is another unlikeable character. She also feels superior towards her sister and likes to point out that she wasn't born in prison as Amy was. She feels superior towards everyone else in her company too. 'None of them have come down in the world as we have. They are all on their own level. Common.' Like father, like daughter. She likes to remind Amy of her own place in the family as 'a tranquil, domestic, home-loving, good girl' or general slave.

Mrs Merdle is completely preoccupied with her position in society and will maintain it at all costs. She comes across as an artificial, mercenary, odious person. She is ruthless about looking out for herself and also her son's position in case he hooked up with Fanny and was disinherited on marrying her. She throws Fanny a trinket and a few coins to pay her off, which Fanny accepts, her pride intact, since she refused him.

This was a collection of chapters that generally didn’t seem to bear much relation to each other, so I found it all a bit confusing. I also don’t feel the story has moved on much (although I’m sure things have been mentioned that will turn out to be important later!). Nice to see Cavaletto back although I’m still not clear who he is and what he’s doing in the book. I did love them trying to speak Italian to him by basically just shouting shortened English sentences at him!

Oops. That was chapter 19.