Dickens & Madoff

Anyone who's lived through the era of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and especially the demise of Bernie Madoff will recognize the prescience of Dickens in his portraying the great Mr Merdle, in Little Dorrit - I man recognized as unfashionably wealthy not because of his intelligence, personality, or inheritance but just because everyone believes he's a genius of finance and that "you can't go wrong w Merdle." So by keeping up an active social schedule - managed by his wife, hilariously known as "The Bosom" - and maintaining a sphinx-like silence he attracts money and investors. Dickens does a great job showing the rise of this mania, a tidal wave in which investors across England are putting their money with Merdle, whatever that means I practical terms, so as to share in his wealth and benefit from his acumen - kind of like buying shares in Berkshire Hathaway except that M is no guru of investment. We can see where this is headed - tables turning and ruin for many - w the only questions being: will the Dorrit family return to debtors' prison! And will Merdle somehow walk away from the catastrophe he created?

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