Little DorritLittle Dorrit
Score Classic
What it's about
William Dorrit is imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea, and his daughter Amy, Little Dorrit, helps care for the family there. The novel follows the Dorrits as they rise from poverty to riches.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. When it came out in 1857, it outsold every earlier Dickens book.
You'll love it if you liked
Bleak House
Middlemarch
The Way We Live NowGood to know
It's very long and has a big cast. It's best read slowly.
By the numbers
- Readers65 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller12 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #108 of the 260 young adult books we rank
- #507 of the 924 classics we rank
- #1608 of the 3,057 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Epic
More by Charles Dickens
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Quick answers
Is Little Dorrit worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It ranks #1,608 of the 3,057 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 68.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Little Dorrit about?
William Dorrit is imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea, and his daughter Amy, Little Dorrit, helps care for the family there. The novel follows the Dorrits as they rise from poverty to riches.
How long does it take to read Little Dorrit?
About 20 hours (784 pages), or about 6 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Little Dorrit?
If you liked it, try Bleak House by Charles Dickens, Middlemarch by George Eliot or The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope.