The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders — Season 1, Episode 1: Part 1
Comedy, Drama • 48 min • 1 season, 4 episodes • ★ 8.5/10
Episode synopsis
Moll is born in London's Newgate Prison to a woman awaiting transportation. No longer pregnant, the mother is immediately sent to the Colonies. Baby Moll is sold several times ending up with a band of gypsies. She runs away as a child and is taken in by the Mayor of Colchester, to be raised as "almost one of the family". When she is 18, the eldest son, Rowland Richardson, seduces her with a promise of marriage. The younger son, Robin, actually offers marriage and they are wed. Five years later, after Moll has borne him two children, he dies. Moll leaves the children with her in-laws and moves to London. She marries Daniel Dawkins, a young man who came into a rich inheritance from his father's drapery business. After running through all the money, plus what she had brought with her, her husband flees to France when the bailiffs come knocking on the door. Moll is left penniless and on her own.
About The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders
Ever since her birth in Newgate Prison, Moll Flanders has survived by her cunning wit, and considerable powers of seduction. She goes through five husbands and countless lovers to escape a life on the streets. In between using and deceiving her besotted paramours, she isn't above picking a pocket or two! All the while, though, her heart belongs to the charismatic Jemmy. Inevitably, even the most clever criminal's luck runs out and she is soon facing the noose. As her execution approaches, she devises on last desperate ploy to save not only her own neck, but also the life of her one true love.