Little Dorrit, Pt. 1 « Factual Imagining

Little Dorrit, Pt. 1

Last Sunday saw the premier of Little Dorrit on Masterpiece, adapted by the god of BBC costume dramas, Andrew Davies. The five-part adaptation of Charles Dickens’s hefty novel published in monthly installments beginning in 1855 will continue this Sunday at 9 pm Eastern.

Maybe it was just me, but I had a terrible headache by the two-hour-episode’s end. My brain fought fiercely from being put to work so early in the week. Part of the joy of Dickens is the incredible complexity of his novels, and I am extremely curious to see, for example, how the woman-murdering Frenchman (Rigaud, played by the brilliant Andy Serkis) fits into the rest of the story. (He was a creeper, and the fact that I could barely understand a word he said did not make his relevance to the plot any clearer.) My familiarity with Little Dorrit is nil, so I am terribly curious to see where Dickens’s story will take the army of seemingly unrelated characters next. The budding relationship between Little Dorrit (Amy, played by Claire Foy) and Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen) appears to be the backbone of the plot, but its growth will probably not be a smooth one. After the first episode, my primary questions are:

1. Why is Mrs. Clennam such a witch to her son?

2. Why will Mrs. Clennam not reveal the meaning of the watch?

3. What is the meaning of the watch?

4. What are all the circumstances regarding Mr. Clennam’s death, and why does Arthur seem haunted by it?

5. What are the circumstances surrounding Little Dorrit’s birth in the Marshalsea?

6. How did Mr. Dorrit come to be the “Father of the Marshalsea”?

7. Is John Chivery as sweet and innocent as he appears?

8. One word: Rigaud?

9. What is Tattycoram’s story?

10. Who the heck is the freaky Mrs. Wade???

&c., &c.

In short, I am quite confused and can’t wait till more of the puzzle pieces are revealed.

If you didn’t catch it on Sunday, you can view Episode 1 here.

Visit Jane Austen Today for a post on Matthew Macfadyen as Arthur Clennam.

View the large cast photo here.

Masterpiece Editor Erin Delaney was a special guest on the Barnes & Noble PBS Masterpiece Board, and you can find her correspondence with other book club members here. She answers questions relating to her role as editor, the relationship between PBS and the BBC, and the general adaptation process. Her responses are very informative and worth the read.