The series was a joint production of the BBC and the American PBS member station WGBH Boston.[1] It originally was broadcast by BBC One and BBC HD, beginning on 26 October 2008 with a 60-minute opening episode, followed by 12 half-hour episodes and a 60-minute finale.[2] In the United States, it aired in five episodes as part of PBS's Masterpiece series between 29 March and 26 April 2009.[3] In Australia, episodes were combined into seven-parts on ABC1 each Sunday at 8:30pm from 27 June 2010[4] and has since been repeated on UKTV.[5]
Since her birth in 1805, for twenty-one years, Amy Dorrit has lived in the MarshalseaPrison for Debt, caring for her father, William, who now enjoys a position of privileged seniority as the Father of the Marshalsea. Amy works as a seamstress for Mrs. Clennam, a cranky, cold and forbidding semi-invalid living in a crumbling home with servants, the sinister Jeremiah Flintwinch and his bumbling wife, Affery.
Mr. Clennam is ill in China with his son, Arthur. His dying wish is that his son "put it right" with his mother. He gives Arthur a pocket watch for her, with hidden meaning. Returning to England after 15 years, Arthur gives his mother the watch, which she opens and reads "Do not forget." Arthur is enamoured of the beautiful Minnie (Pet) Meagles, who prefers aspiring artist, Henry Gowan, to her parents' distress. Arthur befriends Amy, but only as someone helping his mother. Amy falls in love with him. John Chivery, who guards the prison with his father, watches, dismayed, because he loves Amy.
Amy's brother, Tip, falls into debt and joins his father in prison. Arthur pays his debt anonymously, but Amy guesses; whilst Tip is ungrateful, Amy's love for Arthur grows. Arthur, observing his mother's uncharacteristically benevolent attitude towards Amy, suspects his family may be responsible for the Dorrits' misfortunes and asks rent collector and amateur detective, Mr. Pancks, to investigate.
Chivery proposes to Amy, who declines, upsetting both fathers and threatening Dorrit's position. Arthur, unaware of Amy's love, proposes to Pet, who tells him she plans to marry Gowan. He meets inventor-engineer Daniel Doyce: they become partners.
An ex-convict, Rigaud, meets Flintwinch's brother, Ephraim, who has Mrs. Clennam's papers, which she had ordered Jeremiah to burn. Rigaud gets Ephraim drunk, murders him, and takes the papers, learning the Clennam family secret.
Pancks discovers that Dorrit is heir to a fortune. Dorrit, now wealthy, leaves the Marshalsea and insists his family forget their "shameful past" and everyone connected to it, snubbing and insulting Arthur. He hires Mrs Hortensia General to educate his daughters and prepare them for society. They all depart on a Grand Tour of Europe, but Amy cannot adapt to the new lifestyle. Amy's sister, Fanny, is courted by, and accepts, the step-son of wealthy banker, Mr. Merdle. At Pancks' suggestion, Arthur invests in Merdle's bank.
Dorrit returns to England and asks Merdle for advice on "prudent investment". Merdle agrees to invest Dorrit's fortune as a family favour. Dorrit , still tormented by prison memories, returns to Italy to propose to Mrs General, but loses his sanity and dies. Amy returns to London, where she is accommodated by the newly-married Fanny.
Merdle kills himself, his suicide note revealing that his bank is a Ponzi scheme which has ruined thousands, including Arthur, who is forced into the Marshalsea. Chivery angrily reveals to Arthur that Amy loves him. Arthur becomes feverish and is nursed by Amy, who offers to pay his debts, but he refuses.
Rigaud returns to Mrs. Clennam and reveals what he learned from the documents: her unloving attitude drove her husband to infidelity, which resulted in a son, Arthur, whom Mrs. Clennam raised as her own, without any motherly feeling. When Arthur's birth mother died, his paternal grandfather bequeathed money to Amy, who was born in the Marshalsea the day Arthur's birth mother died there. Rigaud demands £2,000 to keep silent, but Mrs. Clennam leaves her house for the first time in years, finds Amy, reveals the truth, and begs forgiveness. Her dilapidated house collapses, killing Rigaud. Returning to her demolished home, Mrs. Clennam collapses and dies.
The Dorrits learn that their money had been invested with Merdle, and is lost. Now that Amy is penniless, Arthur accepts her, and they declare their mutual love. Daniel Doyce returns from Russia, where he has made a fortune, which he shares with Arthur, who marries Amy.
On Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 10 critics have given the series a positive review, and the consensus states, "With a sterling cast and plenty of juicy drama, Little Dorrit is a superb adaptation."[7]
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the series was often compared to Davies' Bleak House, which was released three years earlier.[citation needed] One reviewer for The Daily Telegraph wrote that "Some of the acting has been a bit too hammy" and blamed falling viewing figures on "confusion over scheduling, starting as an hour long special and then breaking into half an hour episodes, like a Victorian East Enders";[8] another added that it "doesn't seem to have caught on in the same way as other recent costume dramas such as Cranford and Bleak House", both due to scheduling and also down since "it wasn't quite as good" as these two programmes, though also that "Most of the cast were as reliably terrific".[9] The Independent also praised the performances, especially Courtenay, Macfadyen and Peake,[10] whilst another of its reviewers praised Davies' adaptation.[11] The Guardian also praised the acting and the adaptation, though with the caveat that "because it's Dickens, those top names can get away with a little bit more showing off and look-at-me acting than they would be able to in, say, Jane Austen".[12]
United States
Brian Lowry of Variety observed, "Slow going at first and rushed near the end, it's nevertheless an absorbing piece of work, reminding us that there are certain things the Brits simply do better... Davies could have easily shed (or at least pared down) a few of [the] subplots without seriously diminishing the story's grandeur, and after the lengthy windup, the last hour races through tying up the assorted loose ends. Even so, there's so much gaudy talent on display here that those with an appetite for it won't be able to get enough, and Little Dorrit gives them everything they could want in a big, gloriously messy package."[13]
Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe felt the series "has so many virtues – indelible performances, stirring pathos, and an emotional and psychological heft unusual for Dickens – that you can forgive its one significant flaw... For all its feeling, Little Dorrit does not wrap up well, which is a no-no when it comes to Dickens. Indeed, a Dickens denouement needs to be neat... But the loose strings that Davies leaves dangling at the end of this script are frustrating. All the carefully built mystery implodes in the final act, as the importance of a number of characters... and the backstory itself are left murky in ways that Dickens made clear... It's hard to imagine how this happened in the course of such an otherwise mindful endeavor. And yet Little Dorrit is still rewarding, for the long journey, if not for the final stop."[14]
Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times noted, "Not every character is exactly as described on paper; some don't stay around long enough to register and others who have earned our interest just disappear. And the story can be confusing at times. But all in all, this is a dynamic, addictive rendition of a complicated novel."[15]
Jonathan Storm of The Philadelphia Inquirer stated, "Andrew Davies, who made 2006's Bleak House one of the best TV shows of the year, crafts another superb script, with characters and incidents squeezing out the sides, just the thing to satisfy close observers, which anyone joining this maxi mini-series should be. Costumes, sets, and actors, a broad lot of those super-skilled, terrifically trained Brits, make for sumptuous viewing... You pretty much know what to expect when Masterpiece visits the 19th century. But Little Dorrit stands at the high end of a very lofty list of period-piece achievement. It's big entertainment."[16]
In her review in The New York Times, Alessandra Stanley said the series "is as rich at the margins as at the center with strange, and strangely believable, characters from almost all levels of society, rendered in quick, firm strokes,"[17] while David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "terrific entertainment... in some ways, perhaps even better than its source material."[18]
Little Dorrit is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Clennam encounters her after returning home from a 20-year absence, ready to begin his life anew.
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice (2005). He gained wider recognition for playing Tom Wambsgans in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.
Little Dorrit is a 1987 film adaptation of the 1857 novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin. The music by Giuseppe Verdi was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.
William Tulloch Paterson is a Scottish actor with a career in theatre, film, television and radio. Throughout his career he has appeared regularly in radio drama and provided the narration for a large number of documentaries. He has appeared in films and TV series including Comfort and Joy (1984), Traffik (1989), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986), Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), The Witches (1990), Wives and Daughters (1999), Sea of Souls (2004–2007), Amazing Grace (2006), Miss Potter (2006), Little Dorrit (2008), Doctor Who (2010), Outlander (2014), Fleabag (2016–2019), Inside No. 9 (2018), Good Omens (2019), Brassic (2020) and House of the Dragon (2022). He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Scottish BAFTAs.
Judy Catherine Claire Parfitt is an English theatre, film, and television actress. She made her film debut in the 1950s, followed by a supporting role in the BBC television serial David Copperfield (1966). She also appeared as Queen Gertrude in Tony Richardson's 1969 film adaptation of Hamlet.
Bleak House is a fifteen-part BBC television drama serial adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name, which was originally published in 1852–53 as itself a print serialisation over 20 months. Produced with an all-star cast, the serial was shown on BBC One from 27 October to 16 December 2005, and drew much critical and popular praise.
Horsemonger Lane Gaol was a prison close to present-day Newington Causeway in Southwark, south London. Built at the end of the 18th century, it was in use until 1878.
Eve Myles is a Welsh actress. She is best known for her television roles portraying Ceri Lewis in the long-running BBC Wales drama series Belonging (2000–2009), Gwen Cooper in the BBC science-fiction series Torchwood (2006–2011), and Faith Howells in the bilingually produced BBC / S4C drama series Keeping Faith / Un Bore Mercher (2017–2020). She is also an accomplished theatre actress.
Ronald G. Cook is an English actor. He has been active in film, television and theatre since the 1970s.
The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, England, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were heard; as such, the prison was often used as a debtor's prison until the practice was abolished in the 1860s. In 1842, it was renamed the Queen's Bench Prison, and became the Southwark Convict Prison in 1872.
Marshalsea Road is a major street in Southwark, south London, England. At the northwest end is the Southwark Bridge Road. At the southeast end is Borough tube station on Borough High Street. Continuing across the street are Long Lane and Great Dover Street. At the northeast corner is the historic St George the Martyr church, where the Charles Dickens character Little Dorrit was married in Dickens' book of the same name. The area around Marshalsea Road has many Dickens associations.
The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, in particular, for its incarceration of the poorest of London's debtors. Over half of England's prisoners in the 18th century were in jail because of debt.
The Twickenham Ferry, sometimes known as Dysart's Ferry, was a historic ferry crossing of the River Thames in what is now the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The ferry connected a location just downstream to Eel Pie Island in the town of Twickenham on the northern bank of the river with Ham House on the southern bank. It should not be confused with today's Hammerton's Ferry, which crosses the river some distance downstream of the route of the Twickenham Ferry.
Lant Street is a street south of Marshalsea Road in Southwark, south London, England.
Charles Dickens's works are especially associated with London, which is the setting for many of his novels. These works do not just use London as a backdrop but are about the city and its character.
Dickensian is a British drama television series that premiered on BBC One from 26 December 2015 to 21 February 2016. The 20-part series, created and co-written by Tony Jordan, brings characters from many Charles Dickens novels together in one Victorian London neighbourhood, as Inspector Bucket investigates the murder of Ebenezer Scrooge's partner Jacob Marley.
Little Dorrit is a lost 1920 British silent historical drama film directed by Sidney Morgan and starring Lady Tree, Langhorn Burton and Joan Morgan. It is based on the 1857 Charles Dickens' novel of the same name. A few fragments totaling 18 minutes survive, and are featured in the documentary Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood. They've also been uploaded to YouTube.
Little Dorrit is a 1934 German drama film directed by Karel Lamač and starring Gustav Waldau, Anny Ondra, and Hilde Hildebrand. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1857 Victorian era novel Little Dorrit, and made a sharp contrast to the light comedies and musicals that Ondra usually appeared in. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Wilhelm Depenau and Erich Zander.
Little Dorrit is a 1924 Danish silent historical drama film directed by A.W. Sandberg and starring Frederik Jensen, Karina Bell and Karen Winther. It is based on the 1857 Charles Dickens' novel of the same name.
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