“George Silverman's Explanation”, published in instalments from January to March 1868, was one of the last pieces of fiction written by Charles Dickens, two years before his death.

Silverman is born in a Preston cellar, and spends his early years locked in there, often left alone while his parents go out to seek work.

Fantastically written short story of the melancholy life of George Silverman.

As in most stories, the daughter falls in love, but not to George Silverman. She falls for a decent young man who can provide for her in a manner less than she has been accustomed to but she prefers happiness instead. When Silverman unites this couple into holy wedlock, the mother is, to say the least, sorely vexed. The mother apparently wanted her daughter to marry for the benefit of the family, to for her own good.