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Author
Summary
First performed in 1895, "An Ideal Husband" is Oscar Wilde's classic and much-loved comedic drama. The play tells the story of an up-and-coming politician, Sir Robert Chiltern, who tries to hide his secret past from his judgmental wife and the blackmail scheme he is forced to participate in to keep that secret quiet. Lady Chiltern has a very particular idea of what makes the "ideal husband" which leaves her with little tolerance for Sir Robert's all...
3) Pygmalion
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Series
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Summary
A Cinderella type of classic romance story told by George Bernard Shaw.
4) Jane Eyre
Summary
Story of a misunderstood and mistreated orphan who grows up to be a strong willed woman. She takes the job of governess at an estate, comes to love and be loved by the master of the house and they nearly marry, but the existence of his insane wife stops the wedding. She leaves, finds family, his estate burns down, his wife dies and he is blinded. She returns to tend and love him.
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When Polly Peachum, daughter to a local fence and thief-catcher, marries infamous highwayman Macheath, it sets off a comically dangerous chain of events as Polly's father is determined to have his new son-in-law killed. However, Polly isn't the only woman in Macheath's life, and he soon gets caught up in the consequences of his many indiscretions. The Beggar's Opera is the most famous surviving example of satirical ballad opera to come out of the...
Author
Summary
Jack Worthington is an upstanding gentleman in Victorian society. He just has one secret-he tells everyone that he has a brother named Earnest, when, in reality, Earnest is his alter ego. This allows him a certain duality; he can go out and party as Earnest, but have a sterling reputation as Jack. However, he must merge the two when Jack discovers that his lover, Gwendolyn, will only marry a man named Earnest. Meanwhile, Algernon, a family friend,...
7) Nanny McPhee
Summary
Nanny McPhee can tame even the most unruly children with a tap of her magic walking stick. Her latest challenge is the bratty brood of a recent widower Mr. Brown. He is under pressure to find a new wife or lose his much-needed allowance from wealthy Aunt Adelaide. His love for scullery maid Evangeline remains unspoken as he wincingly woos the eagerly merry widow Mrs. Quickly, but Brown's raucous rugrats have a plan to make things right, especially...
8) The Queen
Summary
The Queen begins with a familiar epigraph "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"--Henry IV, Part II. The action of the film takes place during the week following the death, on August 31, 1997 of Diana, Princess of Wales. One of its accomplishments, courtesy of adroit use of newsreel and other contemporary footage, is to remind viewers of the deep sadness that surrounded that event. It is also about the divergent and potentially ruinous ways the...
11) The alchemist
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Series
Summary
Benjamin Jonson (1572-1637) was a Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor, known best for his satirical plays and lyric poems. He had a knack for absurdity and hypocrisy, a trait that made him immensely popular in the 17th century Renaissance period. However, his reputation diminished somewhat in the Romantic era, when he began to be unfairly compared to Shakespeare. The Theatre in London had had been denied to "The Admiral's Men" in 1597, but the troupe...
12) A Lobster tale
Summary
"Cody Brewer, a quiet New England fisherman, isn't doing too well for himself; his wife feels neglected, and his son is picked on by the school bully. While out collecting his lobster traps one day, Cody finds a strange green moss that holds magical powers. Once word gets out about the magical moss, the entire town suddenly becomes Cody's best friend, all hoping to get a piece of it. With the townspeople clamoring for some moss and the already delicate...
13) The duchess
Summary
Chronicles the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. She was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life. She was a vibrant beauty and celebrity of her time. Georgiana is trapped in an unhappy marital triangle with her husband and his live-in mistress. She falls passionately in love with Earl Grey, an ambitious young politician, and the affair causes a bitter conflict with her husband and threatens to erupt...
14) Straw dogs
Summary
A young mathematician, David Summer, and his English wife, Amy, move to a Cornish village, seeking the quiet life. But beneath the seemingly peaceful isolation of the village lies a savagery and violence that could destroy the couple.
16) The bookshop
Summary
England, 1959. Free-spirited widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) risks everything to open a bookshop in a conservative East Anglian coastal town. While bringing about a surprising cultural awakening through works by Ray Bradbury and Vladimir Nabokov, she earns the polite but ruthless opposition of a local grand dame (Patricia Clarkson) and the support and affection of a reclusive book loving widower (Bill Nighy). As Florence’s obstacles amass...
Summary
A journalist named Daniel arrives to deliver the news that Emma has been left some money. There's a substantial sum to be claimed if Emma can prove her right to the money and there's a rags to riches story in it for Daniel's newspaper. As Robert and Emma contemplate their change in fortunes, Laura, who is fascinated to meet a real writer, shows Daniel around Lark Rise.
Summary
Sees the arrival of a dashing and elegant stranger in Candleford. Rich, enterprising, worldly and without a wife, James Dowland is a successful businessman with a string of London hotels and has come to transform Candleford and bring it new prosperity. But not everyone welcomes his entrepreneurial efforts and it isn't long before he is sparring with the spirited yet suddenly flustered Dorcas.
20) 102 Dalmatians
Series
Summary
Oddball is the newest puppy. She is searching for her spots. Waddlesworth is a macaw who thinks he's a rottweiler. After a spot of therapy Cruella De Vil is released from prison and is a changed woman who is devoted to dogs and good causes. She is delighted that her parole officer, Chloe, has a dalmatian family and big connections with a dog charity. But the sound of Big Ben can reverse the treatment so it is only a matter of time before Cruella is...