Little Dorrit

2008 • BBC
4.4
5 reviews
Eligible
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Season 1 episodes (14)

1 Episode 1
10/26/08
Season-only
When Arthur Clennam returns to England after years abroad, his curiosity is aroused by the presence in his mother's house of a young seamstress, Amy Dorrit. Seeking to discover why Mrs Clennam, not usually given to charity, has taken on Amy, Arthur visits Marshalsea Prison where he meets and befriends Amy's father, William, the prison's longest-serving inmate.
2 Episode 2
10/30/08
Season-only
Suspecting his family's involvement in their ruin, Arthur, having befriended Amy Dorrit, involves himself in her family's affairs. While hoping to pay off Amy's brother's debt and give him the chance to start again, Arthur himself is also planning to start again with a new job, and perhaps renew his love for childhood sweetheart Flora Casby.
3 Episode 3
11/5/08
Season-only
Flintwinch taunts Arthur's mother about the mystery at the heart of the House of Clennam, while Amy discovers that 'a gentleman' has paid off her brother's debts, and Arthur is invited to Twickenham to renew his acquaintance with the lovely Pet Meagles.
4 Episode 4
11/6/08
Season-only
Amy receives a proposal of marriage which throws her into confusion, Arthur is taken on as a partner in Daniel Doyce's engineering works, and the French villain Rigaud arrives in London.
5 Episode 5
11/12/08
Season-only
Amy accompanies her sister Fanny to meet Mrs Merdle, queen bee of London society. Meanwhile, Rigaud comes into possession of the Clennam papers, and Chivery the turnkey asks Arthur to put in a word for young John with Amy.
6 Episode 6
11/13/08
Season-only
Pancks recruits John Chivery to help him solve the mystery that connects the Dorrit family with the House of Clennam, while Arthur proposes to Pet Meagles. Elsewhere, Tattycoram runs away from Twickenham, and Amy resigns herself to a life without the man she loves.
7 Episode 7
11/19/08
Season-only
Rigaud introduces himself to the House of Clennam, while Arthur is best man at Pet's marriage to Henry Gowan. Pancks concludes his investigation into the Dorrit family's long incarceration in the Marshalsea Debtors' Prison, and Arthur and Amy break momentous news to Mr Dorrit.
8 Episode 8
11/20/08
Season-only
Mr Dorrit is released from the Marshalsea after more than twenty years, and takes his family abroad to reinvent themselves as members of society. Miss Wade commissions Rigaud to spy on Pet and Henry Gowan, and he takes the chance to follow the Dorrits abroad and find out what connects them to the House of Clennam.
9 Episode 9
11/26/08
Season-only
The Dorrits arrive in Venice, and Fanny renews an old acquaintance with Edmund Sparkler and his redoubtable mother Mrs Merdle. Meanwhile, Amy makes a friend in Pet Gowan, united through their mutual affection for Arthur, and Rigaud scents a deeper connection between the Dorrits and the House of Clennam.
10 Episode 10
11/27/08
Season-only
Fanny has stolen the heart of Edmund Sparkler, whose mother is determined to separate them once and for all. Meanwhile, Merdle's Bank is besieged by investors, and Arthur is worried when he sees a suspicious French stranger, the villainous Rigaud, at his mother's house.
11 Episode 11
12/4/08
Season-only
Romance is in the air as Mrs General starts her campaign to woo Mr Dorrit, and Fanny turns the full beam of her attention on Sparkler. Meanwhile, an unwelcome reminder of the old days comes to haunt Mr Dorrit in Venice.
12 Episode 12
12/7/08
Season-only
Mr Dorrit leaves Amy behind in Venice as he returns to London with newlyweds Fanny and Sparkler, but the high life is not all he had hoped it would be. Meanwhile, Arthur invests Doyce and Clennam's capital in Merdle's Bank, and Flora investigates the mysterious disappearance of Rigaud.
13 Episode 13
12/10/08
Season-only
Mr Dorrit returns to Venice a broken man, after a visit to London revives some unwelcome memories. Meanwhile, Arthur warns his mother that she may be in danger from Rigaud, and he is reunited with Amy once more.
14 Episode 14
12/11/08
Season-only
Mr Merdle's death and the collapse of Merdle's Bank sends shockwaves through London as thousands face financial ruin. Arthur returns to the Marshalsea a prisoner, Amy goes back to her birthplace to look after him as he lies gravely ill, and Rigaud returns to play out his blackmail in the Clennam house.

About this show

This gripping adaptation by Andrew Davies brings to life Dickens' powerful story of struggle and hardship in 1820s London. When Arthur Clennam returns to England after many years abroad, his curiosity is piqued by the presence in his mother's house of a young seamstress, Amy Dorrit. The cold and forbidding Mrs Clennam isn't usually given to charity, so why has she made an exception in taking on Amy? Is she making reparations for a past wrongdoing? Arthur's quest to discover the truth takes him to the Marshalsea Prison for Debt. Here he meets and befriends Amy's father, William Dorrit, who is the prison's longest serving inmate. As he tries to help the Dorrits, Arthur discovers that the dark shadow of debt stretches far beyond the walls of the Marshalsea Prison, to affect the lives of many. Just as it is possible to climb to the very top in London Society's intricate game of snakes and ladders, so it is possible to slip right down. But if Arthur succeeds in unravelling the mystery of his family's past, where will it leave him in the scheme of things? And where will it leave the Dorrits?

Ratings and reviews

4.4
5 reviews