47 minSeason 1 • Episode 4
LatestMoll continues her life of crime, taking on a partner, Lucy Diver, but Lucy is caught and hanged. Moll is eventually caught robbing a drapery store. She is taken to Newgate and sentenced to hang. She claims pregnancy to get a one month's stay of execution. Jemmy is caught and brought to the prison. They are allowed an hour together during which time Moll tells Jemmy to ask for transportation before he's brought up in court.
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.
Acting
Alex Kingston's mischievous sparkle carries every frame.
Writing
Andrew Davies makes 18th century filth feel delicious.
Costume
Moll's deteriorating finery charts her social freefall.
Creators
Andrew Davies, Dominic Minghella
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Daniel Craig took this role pre-Bond, playing Jemmy as a roguish charmer with zero hint of future spy stoicism.
Defoe's 1722 novel was so scandalous that this 1996 adaptation still soft-pedaled Moll's worst crimes—she's actually a serial bigamist AND incestuous mother in the original text.
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