Review: Little Dorrit (2008) Episodes 8-14

(Review of episodes 1-7 here.)

On Sunday we left the Dorrits just as they learnt they had inherited a large fortune. Now let's see what happens to them over the next half of the series, and whether Arthur ever solves the mystery of his father's last words, and whether Rigaud ever gets his just desserts.

(Warning: spoilers, and you'll probably be very confused unless you've seen the series)

The Dorrits and their new-found wealth leave for Italy, without a word of gratitude to Arthur (except from Amy. She and her uncle are the only decent members of that family).

The Dorrits' departure

"Look back at me..." Wait, wrong series!

Meanwhile Rigaud joins forces with Miss Wade, who wants to ruin Henry Gowan, who's gone to Italy with his wife. While in Italy the Gowans and the Dorrits meet and become friends, and unfortunately Rigaud is there too.

Also in Italy is Mrs. Merdle, whose son Edmund Sparkler is in love with Fanny Dorrit, and whose husband has started a bank. Mr. Dorrit decides to invest all his money in Merdle's bank. Terrible decision there, Mr. Dorrit.

Edmund Sparkler and Mrs. Merdle

Mr. Merdle

While in Venice Amy and Pet Gowan (née Meagles) become friends. Henry Gowan is still friendly with Rigaud, who Pet dislikes and Amy distrusts. Rigaud finally leaves, but only after murdering Gowan's dog (noooooo the poor dog 😢).

Back in London, Arthur has become the business partner of Daniel Doyce, an inventor. He tries to help Doyce patent his inventions by going to the Circumlocution Office. The Circumlocution Office, as its name suggests, is Dickens' satirisation of government offices and red tape. The satire is every bit as immediately understandable today as it was in the Victorian era.

Arthur going into the Circumlocution Office.

After failing to get any help from the Barnacles at the Circumlocution Office (yes, the family who work there are actually called Barnacles!), Arthur convinces Doyce to invest his money in Merdle's bank. This is a decision that will come back to haunt Arthur. Shortly after this, Doyce goes to Russia to try selling his inventions there, and leaves Arthur in charge of the business.

Rigaud goes back to London and visits Mrs. Clennam, demanding she give him money or he'll reveal her secret. Arthur sees him and becomes suspicious.

Who wouldn't be suspicious of that creep?

Fanny marries Edmund Sparkler. Mr. Dorrit has a mental breakdown and imagines he's back in the Marshalsea. He dies shortly after this. Amy returns to England alone.

Mr. Dorrit's death

Then Merdle commits suicide (a rather gory scene that you might want to skip) and it's revealed that his entire bank was a scam. All the money is lost, including the Dorrits' inheritance and Doyce's money. Doyce is still in Russia and knows nothing about it, and Arthur is put in the Marshalsea for debt.

John Chivery sees that he gets the Dorrits' old cell. There's a truly heartbreaking scene when he confronts Arthur, and Arthur finally realises Amy loves him.

John: I didn't do it for you, I did it for Amy! Because she loves you!

Me: *sobs* 😭😭

Then Arthur takes ill, and Amy comes to nurse him. Aww 😍

When Amy leaves the Marshalsea one day, Rigaud finds her and gives her a letter, telling her to return it to him if he reappears, or to open it if he doesn't.

Rigaud goes to Mrs. Clennam. He reveals her secret and how it involves Amy, and threatens to tell everyone if she doesn't give him money.

Mrs. Clennam goes to find Amy and tell her everything. While she's away, her house collapses and kills Rigaud. Good riddance!

After this, Amy tells Arthur what Mrs. Clennam told her. (No, I'm not going to say what it is!) She also tells him that her father put all his money in Merdle's bank, and now she is as penniless as Arthur is. Then the door opens to reveal... Daniel Doyce, back from Russia! Arthur (reasonably enough) assumes his friend will be angry that he lost their money.

But his fears are groundless. Not only does Doyce forgive him for making a mistake, he earned enough money in Russia to clear Arthur's debts! Yay! (This is a moment that always makes me cheer 😃)

And now for the best part, the moment that I'm always waiting for at the end of a period drama:

😍

THE WEDDING!! And it's exactly as cute and adorable as it should be! 😍

So, what are my thoughts on the series?

Easy. I love it, and it's in my top three favourite Dickens adaptations. There are so many sad and dark parts, but there are also parts that are just adorable! There are some scenes I skip, but that's unfortunately far too common in period dramas. But overall, it's a very good series and I definitely recommend it!

Is it available online?: Yes, on Dailymotion. (The link goes to Episode 1, but all the other episodes are available there too.)

Rating for this half: 9/10 for Amy and Arthur's romance alone, and 8/10 for everything else. (That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with everything else, it's just that Amy/Arthur are so cute!)

Overall rating: 8/10

Coming on Sunday: a review of either Cranford or Our Mutual Friend (1998).

Review: Little Dorrit (2008) Episodes 1-7

Another Sunday, another review! This time it's back to Dickens adaptations, and the series I meant to review on Wednesday. Join me, if you like, in meandering through (the first half of) the depressing yet heartwarming saga of Little Dorrit.

(Side note: when I first watched this series, I didn't think much of the music. But when I watched it again, I loved the music. Odd 🤷)

It's based on a Dickens novel, obviously. The main characters are Amy Dorrit and Arthur Clennam, and the plot revolves around a mystery involving both of them.

There's a long list of recognisable actors. These are just some of them:
Claire Foy (Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown) as Amy Dorrit
Matthew Macfadyen (Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice 2005) as Arthur Clennam
Andy Serkis (Gollum in The Lord of the Rings) as Rigaud
Arthur Darvill (Rory in Doctor Who) as Tip Dorrit
Freema Agyeman (Martha in Doctor Who) as Tattycoram
Alun Armstrong (Dan Peggotty in David Copperfield 1999, and Inspector Bucket in Bleak House) as the Flintwinch twins
Bill Paterson (Dr. Gibson in Wives and Daughters) as Mr. Meagles
Pam Ferris (Mrs. Squeers in Nicholas Nickleby 2001, and Mrs. Boffin in Our Mutual Friend 1998) as Mrs. General
Annette Crosbie (The Fairy Godmother in The Slipper and the Rose) as Mr. F's Aunt
Harriet Walter (Fanny Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility 1995) as Mrs. Gowan
Eddie Marsan (Inspector Lestrade in Sherlock Holmes 2009) as Mr. Pancks
Sebastian Armesto (Mitaka in Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Edmund Sparkler

And now, for a basic overview of the plot. Little Dorrit is a much longer, much more complicated series than Nicholas Nickleby, so there won't be quite as many spoilers. But still, SPOILER ALERT!

The story starts in 1805. William Dorrit and his family have been imprisoned in the Marshalsea for debt, and his youngest child Amy has just been born in the prison. Then we jump forward twenty-one years. Amy does sewing to support her family, and works for Mrs. Clennam -- a very cold woman, who with the help of her servant Flintwinch is hiding a terrible secret.

Mrs. Clennam

Amy

Mr. Flintwinch

Meanwhile, Mrs. Clennam's son Arthur is returning to England with news of his father's death. On the ship with him are the Meagles and their servant Tattycoram, who'll be important later, and the mysterious Miss Wade, who'll be even more important.

Arthur Clennam

The Meagles and Tattycoram, with Arthur (and the back of Daniel Doyce's head)

Miss Wade

Then we're introduced to the murderer Rigaud, in prison somewhere in France, and John Chivery, who works in the Marshalsea and is in love with Amy.

Rigaud. Ugh.

John and Amy. Ouch 😢

It wouldn't be a Dickens novel without enough characters to fill a small town, and all of them have some plot importance later, so now would probably be a good time to mention: Cavalletto, Rigaud's cellmate; Mr. Dorrit, Tip, and Fanny, Amy's selfish father and siblings; Affery, Flintwinch's abused wife; and Henry Gowan, a scoundrel (in Mr. Meagles's words) or a gentleman (in Mrs. Meagles's words) who marries the Meagles' daughter.

(That's not all the important characters. That's not even a quarter of them. It doesn't mention Daniel Doyce, or the Plornishes, or the Casbys and Mrs. F's Aunt, or the Merdles and Edmund Sparkler.)

Moving on...

(There are lots and lots of characters, and so lots and lots of plotlines. Unless you've seen the series, be prepared to be very confused.)

Arthur goes home, where he gives his mother his father's watch. Hidden inside the watch is a piece of paper saying "Do not forget". You can probably tell this will be important later. Arthur's father told him to "put it right" without explaining what "it" is, so Arthur thinks his parents must have wronged someone. When he sees Amy working at Mrs. Clennam's, he wonders if she may be the person they wronged. This leads to a confrontation with his mother, which ends with him leaving the family business.

Meanwhile, John Chivery proposes to Amy, and she turns him down. Ouch. It's obvious John and Amy aren't suited for each other, and she'd never be happy if she married him, but it's still a tragic scene 😢

At the same time Rigaud has found his way to London. Does anyone think this can possibly end well? He just happens to meet Flintwinch's twin, who just happens to have some papers Mrs. Clennam wants destroyed (Dickens loved unlikely coincidences!), so Rigaud murders this Flintwinch and steals the papers. This leads to a darkly comical scene later, when Rigaud encounters the other Flintwinch and gets a nasty shock.

"Wait, didn't I murder you?"

Tattycoram runs away from the Meagles and goes to live with Miss Wade. Arthur falls in love with Pet Meagles and proposes to her, but she's already accepted Henry Gowan's proposal. The marriage goes ahead, despite misgivings on the part of Arthur and the Meagles, as well as Mr. Gowan's arrogant mother.

Arthur enlists the help of Mr. Pancks, who works for the father of the woman Arthur once loved, to help him find out if the Clennams did the Dorrits any wrong in the past. Instead Pancks discovers that Mr. Dorrit is heir to a large fortune: a fortune that will pay all his debts and set him and his family free.

My thoughts on the series so far: I'll be honest, at first I wasn't impressed by it at all. I kept comparing it unfavourably to Bleak House. But once I got over the fact that it isn't Bleak House but an entirely different story with entirely different characters, I began to really enjoy it. I shuddered every time Rigaud appeared (in the same way I shuddered every time the Squeerses appeared in Nicholas Nickleby). I felt so sorry for Amy stuck with her awful family, and for poor Arthur with his awful mother (though at least he can escape his mother). I cried for poor John Chivery (though not as much as I cried later 😭). And overall, I loved it.

Rating for this half: 8/10. There are some scenes I really wish weren't in it, almost all of them involving Rigaud, but thankfully you can skip them without missing anything important.

Review of episodes 8-14 here.