Season 1 • Episode 3
LatestAcknowledging the wrong she has done, Maud knows she must escape Mrs Sucksby if she is to rescue Sue. She manages to get out and finds her way to an old business associate of her uncle's, but he refuses to help and sends her away. Alone in the alleyways and streets of London and unaware of the dangers that lurk, Maud falls prey to sexual predators and realises she has no choice but to return to Lant Street. Mrs Sucksby is overjoyed to see her and Maud discovers that she is in fact Mrs Sucksby's own daughter. Meanwhile, employing all the underhanded tricks that her childhood has taught her, Sue escapes from the asylum. She heads for London where she plans to get her revenge on Maud for what she sees as betrayal. At Mrs Sucksby's, Sue confronts Maud, Mrs Sucksby and Rivers; a huge row ensues and in a struggle Rivers is killed. Despite Maud being guilty of Rivers' murder, Mrs Sucksby confesses to protect both girls and soon after is executed for the crime.
A young woman is hired as a maid to an heiress who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering uncle. But, the maid has a secret: she is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a gentleman to help him seduce the heiress to elope with him, rob her of her fortune, and lock her up in a madhouse. The plan seems to proceed according to plan until the women discover some unexpected emotions.
Acting
Hawkins and Cassidy's chemistry could power Victorian London
Direction
Walsh frames desire like a crime scene — you're complicit
Writing
Sarah Waters' plot machinations are genuinely cruel and brilliant
Creator
Aisling Walsh
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The miniseries helped spark a 2000s wave of Victorian lesbian dramas, influencing everything from Tipping the Velvet to Portrait of a Lady on Fire's marketing.
The finger-licking scene was improvised — Sally Hawkins added it after researching actual Victorian pickpocket techniques where thieves used saliva to count stolen coins by touch.
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