Book Review: Little Dorrit

As we attempt to survive "The Great Recession," who would have believed that Charles Dickens in his classic Little Dorrit created a story that could have been taken from a recent copy of The Wall Street Journal? Originally published in a monthly serial from December 1855 to June 1857, Dickens' story tells of the great financial wizard Mr. Merdle, a man who is literally the foundation of the British investment empire. A shaker of the world's economic system and the guru of economics, Mr. Merdle's demise can be taken right from the pages of the Bernie Madoff scandal. The resulting economic calamity and the taking down of such honorable and loving persons as Arthur Clennan, the savior of Little Dorrit and her father, forecast the lack of financial rectitude in our contemporary times. There is even the landlord Mr. Pancks, a believer in "trickle down economics" who thinks that what's best for the wealthy is best for him, even if it's unethical. Maybe even Dickens' debtor prison will become a reality of our times. Read Litte Dorrit and you'll be amazed at its timely relevance. -Henry (Downtown)