Shane Meadows explores 18th-century financial fraud in ‘El patíbulo’

The crime drama series ‘El patíbulo’ (The Gallows), directed by Shane Meadows, explores an 18th-century financial fraud in England during the early Industrial Revolution. The series serves as a prequel to Benjamin Myers’ 2017 book regarding counterfeiters in Cragg Vale, West Yorkshire.

Led by the character David Hartley, a group of counterfeiters managed to destabilize the British economy by skillfully recreating guineas through the scraping of real coins. The narrative follows Hartley as he returns to his community after seven years of criminal activity in Birmingham, navigating a landscape that incorporates elements of folk horror.