The first part of the novel, “Poverty,” introduces William Dorrit, who is an unsuccessful businessman but a gentleman of good character. He is sent to the Marshalsea debtors’ prison in London when he is unable to pay back the money which he had borrowed. The law allows for Dorrit’s family to live in his cell with him, so his wife and their two children, Fanny and Tip, join him. They have an additional child, Amy, who is born in prison. Amy is given the nickname Little Dorrit because of her small size.