c. 62) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that aimed to reform the powers of courts to detain debtors.

[3] However, a prison term did not alleviate a person’s debt; typically, it was required that the creditor be repaid in-full before an inmate was released.

Dickens’ novel Little Dorrit was written to encourage debt reform and was set in the Marshalsea debtors' prison where his father was incarcerated.

Credit was not only determined based on a person's assets and income, but also their social status within the community and their adherence to the moral standards of the time.

[8] The Debtors Act 1869 significantly reduced the ability of the courts to detain those in debt, although some provisions were retained.