Dirty Dick Dirty Dick Nathaniel Bentley (–1809), commonly known as Dirty Dick, was an 18th-century merchant who owned a hardware shop and warehouse in London, and is one person who is considered as a possible inspiration for Miss Havisham in Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" after he refused to wash following the death of his fiancée on their wedding day. He was a previous owner of a pub on Bishopsgate, in the City of London, which is named after him. Bentley had been quite a dandy in his youth, but following the death of his fiancée on their wedding day he refused to
Charles Dickens mode for novel publication. Cliffhanger endings in his serial publications kept readers in suspense. The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback. For example, when his wife's chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in "David Copperfield" seemed to reflect her disabilities, Dickens improved the character with positive features. His plots were carefully constructed, and he often wove elements from topical events into his narratives. Masses of the illiterate poor chipped in ha'pennies to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up