SEMINAR LEADER
Nancy Carr has spent decades fascinated by literature in general and Victorian literature in particular. After earning a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia, she worked for many years as an editor and professional development leader for the Great Books Foundation. She is now an instructional designer for the Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work. While she reads as much as she can, she continues to amass more books than she can read.
READINGS
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
(Penguin Classics, 2004)
ISBN-13: 978-0141439969
SEMINAR OVERVIEW
“Little Dorrit is about society, which certainly does not distinguish it from the rest of Dickens’ noels unless we go on to say, as we must, that it is *more* about society than any other of the novels, that it is about society in its very essence.” — Lionel Trilling
If you’re interested in the question of how to retain integrity and build a meaningful life in a world full of deceit and falsity, this is a novel for you! In Little Dorrit Dickens pursues this query through characters and plot twists that are both unmistakably Victorian and enduringly relevant. This is truly a book with everything in it — the highest highs, lowest lows, and most amazing characters.
Drawing from the plight of his own father during Dickens’ childhood, Dickens sets many of the novel’s scenes in the Marshalsea debtor’s prison. The Dorrit family’s youngest daughter, Amy, was born during the family’s incarceration and becomes, after her mother’s death, the main caretaker for her father, sister, and brother. The novel follows Amy (known as “Little Dorrit”) as she experiences her family’s changing fortunes and encounters Arthur Clennam, only son of a strict, rigidly pious woman guarding a mysterious family secret. The story of Little Dorrit and Arthur Clennam is surrounded by a cast of indelible characters, including the loquacious Flora Finching, the narcissistic Henry Gowan, the benevolent Meagles family, the vindictive Miss Wade, and the fantastically wealthy Mr. Merdle.
In Little Dorrit, Dickens uses his inimitable blend of realism and fantasy to consider a multitude of subjects, including government bureaucracy, speculative finance, and continental travel. As in his other “late” novels, Dickens vividly depicts the darkness of many aspects of the mid-Victorian world and highlights the tenuous survival of honesty and kindness. Little Dorrit stands out among his novels for its searching explorations of childhood suffering, adult perseverance, and individual survival in the face of an oppressive society.
TORONTO PURSUITS 2026 PRICING
The registration cost for Toronto Pursuits 2026 is C$1850. All seminars are C$75 off through 11:59 p.m. Eastern, January 3, 2026. Sale prices are automatically applied.
All orders placed by 11:59 p.m. Eastern, January 3, 2026, also get a complimentary Toronto Summer Music Festival ticket. Participants who register after January 3 can purchase a concert ticket at our group rate, typically around C$80. The concert we will be attending will be announced in early spring 2026.
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The fine print: To get the bring-a-friend discount, your friend must not have registered for any previous Toronto Pursuits seminar in any year. Your friend must register by May 31, 2026, or Classical Pursuits will apply the nondiscounted price to your final payment. Limit one $100 discount per participant for being referred as a new friend. For example, if person A brings new friend B, person C cannot also claim friend B for the bring-a-friend discount. If friend B brings new friend D, friend B qualifies for $100 discount for being a new referral, and an additional $100 for referring new friend D. Classical Pursuits reserves the right to make all decisions about discount eligibility.
Toronto Pursuits 2026
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