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TV-PG
S1 • E1
London; the 1820s. Amy Dorrit was born in the Marshalsea, a debtors' prison, where her father has been incarcerated for so long he dines out on the fact,regarding himself as a local celebrity. She has just got a job as a seamstress to Mrs. Clennam, a widowed invalid and a ruthless businesswoman who lives in a crumbling town house with her sinister butler Flintwinch and his nervous wife Affery. Arthur Clennam, her son, is returning home after nine years working for the family firm in China. In France he meets a solitary Englishwoman Miss Wade and the retired couple, Mr. and Mrs. Meagles, who have gone abroad to take their spoilt daughter Pet's mind off the unsuitable boyfriend Henry Gowan. They also have an adopted daughter Tattycoram, whom they patronize, and Miss Wade is drawn to her as a kindred spirit. On his return to London Arthur cannot understand why his usually uncharitable mother has engaged Amy and recalls his father's dying words to 'put it right'. He assumes that his family is responsible for the Dorrits' misfortunes and visits Amy's father at the Marshalsea to the annoyance of the jailer's son John Chivery, who worships Amy. Locked in the prison overnight Arthur meets Amy's irresponsible brother 'Tip', another debtor, and Amy's sister Fanny and uncle who are music-hall artists who are visiting. Meanwhile, in France, Rigaud, a murderous French man, and his timid cell-mate, the Italian Cavaletto, are separately released from jail. And Miss Wade surprises Tattycoram, who is in a rage at her adopted parents, by calling on her.At night Affery is taken aback to see Flintwinch, who has just burnt some papers at his mistress's request, entertaining his twin brother.
S1 • E2
Arthur again visits Amy at the prison, where he meets her friend Maggy, a girl who has been left with the mind of a child by illness. He goes to the Bleeding Heart Yard to pay off Tip's creditor and meets the very large Plornish family,who despise Pancks, the grasping rent-collector, but are full of praise for Christopher Casby, the owner of the yard and his employer. Arthur knows Casby because, years earlier he had wanted to marry Casby's daughter Flora but their parents stopped them. Casby advises him that, in order to cancel the Dorrit family debts, he should go to the Circumlocution Office, which he does, but is stone-walled by two officials, Tite Barnacle and Tite Barnacle junior, who tell him that so much work would be involved it is not worth it. Leaving the office, he meets Mr. Meagles who introduces him to Daniel Doyce, a budding inventor. Arthur has already told his mother he is leaving her firm and considers becoming Doyce's business partner. In the evening he goes to Casby's for a dinner party, where he meets again with Flora, now chubby and garrulous. She has married a Mr. Finching but was widowed and has to look after Mr. F's aunt, a mad old woman who shouts at people. In France Cavaletto re-encounters Rigaud, now calling himself Lagnier.
S1 • E3
Arthur moves into lodgings and is visited by Amy, along with her protégée Maggy, to thank him for paying Tip's debts. They stay late and are locked out of their respective homes, having to sleep in a doorway after Fanny, Amy's selfish sister, has declined to help because she is going out with her foppish admirer, Sparkler. Arthur spends a weekend with the Meagles family, again meeting Daniel Doyce.The family are critical of Miss Wade, whom Tattycoram defends before running off to meet her in a churchyard. "You will come with me one day when you are ready", Miss Wade tells her. Affery overhears a conversation between Flintwinch and Mrs. Clennam in which he is apparently taunting her over her debt to the Dorrit family.
S1 • E4
John Chivery is heart-broken when Amy rejects his marriage proposal, telling him she will never marry, though Arthur is clearly in her thoughts. News gets back to her father, who becomes self-pitying, hoping it will not alter the way John and his father regard him. Henry Gowan arrives at the Meagles' house. He is the 'unsuitable' young man who fancies Pet, but it is obvious that his presence is not welcomed by her parents, who hint to Arthur that he and she make a fine couple. Arthur returns to London with Daniel Doyce and visits his work-shop in the Bleeding Heart Yard where they formalize their business agreement. Cavaletto comes running into the yard, is knocked down by a horse and cared for by the Plornish family. He is running away from Rigaud, now calling himself Blandois, who goes to see Flintwinch, engaging in dastardly deeds to get a box in the latter's possession.
S1 • E5
Amy accompanies Fanny on a visit to the rich and haughty Mrs. Merdle, mother of Fanny's admirer Sparkler, and Amy is shocked that Fanny, who clearly does not love him, is happy to be bribed to keep away from him. Mrs. Merdle takes some pleasure in informing her son of the transaction. Later she and her reserved financier husband give a lavish dinner party where a guest describes him as the most influential man in London. Arthur and Daniel set up their work-shop, employing Cavaletto. Flora visits, getting Arthur to send Amy to her on the promise of work, though she seems more interested in telling Amy about her former relationship with Arthur. Mr.Pancks bribes Mr. Chivery to look into the Dorrits' background from old prison records, whilst Mr. Chivery asks Arthur to put in a good word for the unhappy John with Amy. Whilst Arthur is talking to Amy Maggy arrives with begging letters from Amy's father and brother Tip for Arthur, who refuses the brother.Amy later rounds on Tip and is clearly upset that her family is exploiting Arthur. Pancks, seen earlier arguing with Casby because he feels Casby is too harsh on his tenants, comforts Amy, telling her that her fortunes will soon change. Rigaud, examining the contents of the box he had stolen, looks very pleased with himself.
S1 • E6
Arthur proposes to Pet, who turns him down, adding that that morning she had agreed to marry Henry Gowan. It is clear that her parents are not happy about it and nor is Henry's snobbish mother, who visits Arthur, accusing the Meagles family of being gold-diggers, which Arthur refutes. Later Maggy takes him to visit Amy at the Marshalsea but she, because of her feelings for him, refuses to see him though her father construes this as rudeness in view of the help Arthur has given them. Tattycoram runs away to live with Miss Wade and refuses to return to Twickenham when Meagles, accompanied by Arthur, tries to persuade her. Pancks visits Mrs. Clennam and, in Amy's presence, delivers a cryptic remark about a sea captain who was an ancestor of the Dorrits. Later, Affery is saying goodbye to Amy when she is startled by Rigaud, returning to Mrs. Clennam's house.
S1 • E7
The day dawns when Pet Meagles marries her Henry with Arthur as best man. Henry's mother tells her friend Mrs. Merdle that she has dropped her opposition to the union because the 'Miggles' family's dowry will contribute to the couple's visit to Italy, where Henry can study art. Mr. and Mrs. 'Miggles', however, are less than elated at the marriage. Rigaud charms Arthur's mother when he visits her with the contents of the stolen box, and, whilst her butler stands by uncomfortably, she lets the Frenchman know that she will do business with him when she is ready. Flora lets it slip to Arthur that she realizes that her father is a greedy charlatan, allowing Pancks to take the scorn of Casby's over-taxed tenants but Mr. Pancks himself is on a high. Thanks to his detective work in cahoots with his friends Mr. and Miss Rugg and John Chivery - and subsidized by cash he has borrowed from Casby under false pretences -- he has 'moled out' the fact that William Dorrit is the heir to a fortune that has long lain dormant and, as a consequence, is in a position not just to buy himself out of the Marshalsea but to establish himself and his family as very rich indeed.
S1 • E8
The newly-rich Dorrits leave the Marshalsea and Amy is appalled at how coldly her father treats Arthur when repaying the money he owes. Her snobbish siblings are equally as dismissive of Arthur. Rigaud visits Miss Wade, who pays him to befriend and travel to Italy with the newly-wed Gowans and to harm Henry. The Dorrits also arrive in Italy on the Grand Tour, in the company of Mrs. General, who William has employed as a companion to his daughters. At an inn they meet the Gowans and Rigaud, who is intrigued to hear who they are. Pet and Amy bond, with a mutual dislike of the Frenchman and their regard for Arthur, Back in London, the Plornishes are planning to buy a shop with money given them by Amy, where they will look after and employ Maggy. Whilst pretending to be pleased for them Casby plans to double their rent.
S1 • E9
The Grand Tour moves on to Venice, where the Dorrits encounter Mrs. Merdle and Edmund at their hotel. Amy corresponds with Arthur, and her uncle, the only other family member who is not a snob, observes that she appreciates his letters more than her surroundings or Mrs. General's gruff etiquette lessons. Indeed Uncle Frederick stands up to his brother when the latter tells Amy they should "sweep the past under the carpet". Pet and Henry Gowan are also in Venice and the Dorrit sisters visit them to find Rigaud acting as Henry's model. Pet is frightened of his influence on Henry,the more so when their dog, who snarled at him, is found dead. Amy is also unnerved by Rigaud's interest in her. Back in London Arthur finds young Barnacle is no help when he applies for a patent for Daniel's steam engine.
S1 • E10
In Venice Fanny continues to cold-shoulder Edmund and spar with his mother, who writes to her husband to employ him,to get him out of Fanny's clutches, in the Bank. The bank is highly successful and Mr. Pancks tells Arthur to invest in it to increase capital for his business. Arthur is also a witness to a row between Mr. Meagles and Mrs. Gowan over the marriage neither of them wanted. Rigaud returns to London and Arthur sees him talking to Miss Wade, whom he follows to Casby's house where Flora flirts with him and Mr. F's aunt insults him. Pancks tells Arthur that Casby holds an allowance in trust for Miss Wade,hence her visits, but Arthur is not wholly convinced. Later he catches up with Rigaud at his mother's but she refuses to disclose their business. In fact Rigaud is seeking to blackmail her over the contents of the box he stole from Flintwinch's twin brother, but she is unaware that he possesses them and feels that she has no cause to fear him - wrongly, in the event.
S1 • E11
Pa and Ma Meagles arrive in Venice as Pet gives birth to a son, assisted by her good friend Amy. For all their differences Amy and Fanny are mutually horrified to see Mrs. General woo their father and Fanny finally marries Sparkler, to escape having to have Mrs. General as a step-mother. Amy is deeply upset when her father forbids her to return to London with the newly-weds. Due to Mr. Merdle's influence Sparkler is given a job at the Circumlocution Office. The sycophantic Dorrit congratulates him but Mr. Meagles is critical of the office's uselessness and tells him to recall how Arthur used to canvass there in vain on his behalf. He is not pleased to be reminded of his past. In London 'Wanted' posters appear for Rigaud. He was the last person to be seen with Flintwinch's twin before he did away with him for Mrs. Clennam's box. Cavaletto informs Arthur that the man is a dangerous criminal, and Arthur goes to warn his mother but she is dismissive of his anxieties and sends him away.
S1 • E12
The Sparklers return to London with Mr. Dorrit, who is thrilled to be seen as part of Mr. Merdle's world, and, like countless others, is keen to invest his wealth into the Merdle funds. So is Arthur, now running his business alone whilst Daniel takes up a six month appointment in Russia. Arthur asks Mr. Pancks to find Rigaud, and Flora calls on Mr. Dorrit, asking him to do the same, in which capacity he visits Mrs. Clennam, who is as icy as ever and throws him out. Wounded by her tone he starts to unravel, over-reacting when a cab driver mentions the Marshalsea, and being aggressive when John Chivery visits him, although he calms down and apologizes to John. He believes that Merdle's circle scoff at him because of his past and hurries back to Italy, where his ramblings make no sense to a concerned Amy.
S1 • E13
After Mrs. General rejects his proposal of marriage, subsequently giving her notice, Mr. Dorrit falls spectacularly apart at Mrs. Merdle's masked ball, thinking he is back in the Marshalsea, and delivering a humiliating outburst to that effect. Soon afterward he passes away, as does Frederick, seemingly out of grief for his brother, and Amy returns to London, where she is given a home by Fanny and Edmund. Arthur seeks out Miss Wade for news of Rigaud's whereabouts. She cannot help, but explains that she is an orphan, hence her patronage of Tattycoram, and that she was slighted in love by Henry Gowan. She had intended to pay Rigaud to kill him but drew back. After another unsuccessful effort to warn his mother about Rigaud,Arthur bumps into Amy, who wounds him by saying she wished they had never met. That evening Mr. Merdle's doctor is summonsed to a bath-house where the 'marvel of the age' has committed suicide.
S1 • E14
Merdle's suicide note reveals that he was a swindler, robbing his investors and leaving thousands ruined. Mrs. Merdle agrees to Fanny's suggestion they do a 'moonlight flit' to escape creditors but Arthur submits to imprisonment in the Marshalsea, where the Plornishes bring food and optimism and John Chivery makes him realize Amy has always loved him. He succumbs to a fever and wakes up to find Amy has come to the Marshalsea to nurse him back to health. She tells him she loves him but he replies that, now he is ruined, he would only drag her down. Rigaud returns to taunt Mrs. Clennam, revealing what he knows from the stolen documents. Her hard heart drove her husband into an affair with another woman who bore a son, Arthur, whom she snatched and brought up lovelessly. The woman died and Mr. Clennam's father, seeking to help someone else who was disadvantaged, bequeathed money to Amy. Rigaud wants £2,000 to keep silent but instead she gets up and hobbles to the prison to confess to Amy what she has kept back, asking for Amy's forgiveness. Whilst she is out her house collapses, killing Rigaud, and she drops down dead on surveying the rubble. Tattycoram discovers that Miss Wade has been using her in her plan to hit back at Gowan and returns to the Meagles. Mr. Pancks exposes Casby as a miser and a hypocrite and cuts his beard off in front of his tenants before resigning. The Dorrit siblings are left penniless when their father's will is read, as he too had invested all his cash with Mr. Merdle, and Sparkler gets Tip a job at the Circumlocution Office. Daniel Doyce returns from Russia, having made a fortune, which he is happy to share with the man who set him up in business - Arthur, whose financial woes are now ended. Flora and John stand aside nobly and join all the other friends of Arthur and Amy at their wedding.
Arthur Clennam
Amy Dorrit
Mr. Dorrit
Mrs. Clennam
Fanny Dorrit
Flintwinch
Pancks
Cavalletto
Edmund Sparkler
Rigaud
