Tonight is the start of the BBC production of Dickens’ Little Dorrit [BBC 1, 8pm].  Andrew Davies, in yet another lavish costume drama of a classic, brings to the small screen Dickens’ tale of financial ruin, love, and mystery all rolled into one …  one hopes that by bringing this long-forgotten masterpiece back to life,  Davies will do what he has done for Austen and Gaskell among others, and inspire viewers to return to the books! 

 I have seen the Derek Jacobi 1988 BBC version several times, so looking forward to this new rendition with Matthew MacFadyen as Arthur Clennam and Claire Foy as Little Dorrit, along with quite the star-studded cast… see this short review from Digial Spy:

 

 

Often shows boast of having an “all-star cast” but in the case of Little Dorrit they really mean it. The roster includes (deep breath): Matthew Macfadyen, Freema Agyeman, Ruth Jones, Pam Ferris, Eve Myles, Andy Serkis, Amanda Redman, Russell Tovey, Bill Paterson, Maxine Peake, Annette Crosbie, Alun Armstrong and Mackenzie Crook, to name but a few. Surprisingly Judi Dench isn’t on the list. 

So, the key question: is it any good? Well, it’s a veeery slow starter – with fourteen episodes in the series, we should probably expect a bit of padding here and there – but once it gets going it’s reasonably intriguing. Personally I’m just pleased to see Mr Macfadyen back on the box in a regular role.
[from Digital Spy.co.uk]

  

 

Further reading: [a small sampling of the many articles…]

• Little Dorrit synopsis and full text at Bibliomania and at Literature Network
• The inspiration for Dickens’ classic novel at the Daily Mail
• An interview with Andrew Davies at Scotland on Sunday
• Telegraph.co.uk article “Little Dorrit: Life and Debt”
• A video interview with the cast at Digital Spy