Suspicion and espionage swirl amid look-alike suitors, unrequited love and the clash of the French Revolution in this Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel A Tale of Two Cities. When Charles Darnay is accused of spying, he's unexpectedly freed by a stranger who could be his twin. But in addition to their looks, the men share something else: their love for a beautiful woman.

Epic story about the romance between the most powerful man in the world and the woman who conquered his heart.

Set in the Napoleonic Wars, Vanity Fair is a rich and resplendent satire of English society in which there is a great quantity of eating and drinking, making love and jilting, laughing and the contrary, smoking, cheating, fighting, dancing and fiddling.Becky Sharp, the penniless, orphaned daughter of an artist and a French opera dancer, and Amelia Sedley, the sheltered child of a rich City Merchant are unlikely, but firm friends. From the drawing rooms of Regency London to the fields of Waterloo, Vanity Fair tells their story.Becky, an irrepressible schemer one of the most seductive social climbers of all time who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. While her friend, the meek and mild Amelia, pursues the opposite course. In the end both girls get what they want but not quite in the way they planned.

This 10-part 10 hour docu-drama depicts the life of Zulu warrior Shaka, an early 19th century soldier and King who through brilliant but ruthless tactics, united the smaller neighboring kingdoms in his Southeast African region, into a single Zulu nation. Interweaving historic fact with cultural practices, rituals, and mythologies, Shaka is revealed to be one of the greatest modern military figures on the African continent

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (also known as The Pickwick Papers) is the first novel by Charles Dickens. Written for publication as a serial, The Pickwick Papers is a sequence of loosely-related adventures. The action is given as occurring 1827–8, though critics have noted some seeming anachronisms. The novel's main character, Mr Samuel Pickwick, Esquire, is a kind and wealthy old gentleman, and the founder and perpetual president of the Pickwick Club. To extend his researches into the quaint and curious phenomena of life, he suggests that he and three other "Pickwickians" (Mr Nathaniel Winkle, Mr Augustus Snodgrass, and Mr Tracy Tupman) should make journeys to remote places from London and report on their findings to the members of the club.

Miniseries following the life of George Washington, from the time he is a young man, through his experiences in the French and Indian War and his rise to lead the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Comedy set in different historical periods that features the ill-fated exploits of the mean-spirited Edmund Blackadder and his dim sidekick Baldrick.

Jack Holborn is 13-year-old orphan in the 1800's that wants to get a job on a sailship to avoid foster homes. He is hired by Captain Sharingham, and they set sail. Jack was found on the steps of the Holborn catholic church in London, when he was a baby. He was wearing a leather arm band with the name "Jack" on it. The nuns therefore called him Jack Holborn.

Two sisters of opposing temperaments find love and some heartbreak in Jane Austen's 18th century classic.

In Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice, the arrival of a young, well-off, eligible man named Mr. Bingley sends the Bennet household--with five girls of a marrying age--into a tizzy. But it's the introduction of Mr. Bingley's friend, Mr. Darcy, that sets in motion the fate of Elizabeth Bennet, resolved only after a labyrinth of social and personal complexities. Austen's novels are miracles of skillful plotting, fusing a rich understanding of psychological motivation with whimsical turns of chance. This superb BBC adaptation from 1980 zips along, thanks to lively performances, fluid direction, and a keen grasp of the wit of Austen's dialogue and her satirical characters, who range from clever and kind to utterly odious. Due to its faithfulness and deep appreciation of the material, this five-episode miniseries stands up against any other film or television adaptation, though Ri...

The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London. It is the story of Nell Trent, a beautiful and virtuous young girl of 'not quite fourteen.' An orphan, she lives with her maternal grandfather in his shop of odds and ends. Her grandfather loves her dearly, and Nell does not complain, but she lives a lonely existence with almost no friends her own age.

General Jarjayes - so desperate for a son to preserve the family name and noble standing - names his newborn daughter ''Oscar'' and chooses to raise her as a boy. Fourteen years later, Oscar is a masterful duelist, marksman, and the newly appointed Commander of the French Royal Guards. Her first task: to protect Marie Antoinette, who is engaged to the French prince and future king, Louis-Auguste.

The sons and grandchildren of Philip Kent make a life for themselves in America.

Dick Turpin is a British television drama series starring Richard O'Sullivan and Michael Deeks. It was created by Richard Carpenter, Paul Knight and Sydney Cole and written by Richard Carpenter, John Kane, Charles Crichton and Paul Wheeler, it was made by Gatetarn, Seacastle productions in-association with London Weekend Television between 1979 and 1982. 26 half hour episodes and one feature-length episode were filmed on location at Maidenhead in Berkshire, England.The series is loosely based on the adventures of the real 18th century highwayman Dick Turpin.

The tragic tale of Maggie Tulliver, the miller's daughter, who defies her embittered brother in standing by the man she loves - shocking the stifling society in which she lives - in an attempt to pursue her blighted dreams.

Based on true historical accounts, Against the Wind covers 15 years of Australias most brutal Colonial past. It tells the story of Mary Mulvane, an 18 year old unfairly charged and sentenced to serve seven years as a convict, transported from Ireland to NSW in 1798. Destined to overcome the misery of a repressed life Mary's journey represents a gruelling chapter of the Australian experience. Surviving the hardship and horror of transportation to Australia, Mary faces an uncertain future in a savage land-establishing herself against the turbulent backdrop of Australia's Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804 and the 1808 Rum Rebellion.

Frontierswoman Sayward Luckett's struggles in Ohio during the late 18th-century and early 19th-century. A new look at how the West was won.  Adapted from the trilogy of novels by Conrad Richter, "The Awakening Land" spans 27 years of frontier settlement. It begins in 1790, when the dirt-poor Lucketts leave Pennsylvania in search of game in the Ohio Territory. The head of the clan, Worth Luckett (Tony Mockus), is a good provider but also a wanderer, so it's not long before his oldest daughter Sayward (Elizabeth Montgomery) is looking after her three sisters.

The epic tale of celebrated Pulitzer-prize winning author Alex Haley's ancestors as portrayed in the acclaimed twelve hour mini-series Roots, was first told in his 1976 bestseller Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The docu-drama covers a period of history that begins in mid-1700s Gambia, West Africa and concludes during post-Civil War United States, over 100 years later. This 1977 miniseries eventually won 9 Emmy awards, a Golden Globe award, and a Peabody award, and still stands as the most watched miniseries in U.S. history.

The Adams Chronicles "chronicles" the story of the Adams progeny over a 150-year span, including John (signer of the Declaration, accomplished diplomat, and our 2nd President), his wife Abigail, his son John Quincy (acclaimed Secretary of State, our 6th President, and prominent abolitionist Congressman), grandson Charles Francis, and much-heralded members of the fourth generation.

Romantic TV drama series set in 1780s Cornwall. The story begins when Ross Poldark returns from the American War of Independence to claim his inheritance and marry his fiancée, Elizabeth. However, during his two year absence, false reports of Poldark's death have been circulated, and Elizabeth has found comfort in the arms of another.

Follows the adventures of a Swiss family shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island in 1801. It is loosely based on the classic novel by Johann Wyss.

Dennis Potter finds a contemporary relevance to the adventures of 17th-century Italian libertine Giacoma Casanova in a six-part series formed around Casanova's 1755 imprisonment.

BBC's 1971 4-part adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The story revolves around Elinor and Marianne, two daughters of Mr. Dashwood by his second wife. They have a younger sister, Margaret, and an older half-brother named John. When their father dies, the family estate passes to John, and the Dashwood women are left in reduced circumstances. The novel follows the Dashwood sisters to their new home, a cottage on a distant relative's property, where they experience both romance and heartbreak. The contrast between the sisters' characters is eventually resolved as they each find love and lasting happiness. Through the events in the novel, Elinor and Marianne find a balance between sense (or pure logic) and sensibility (or pure emotion) in life and love.

The First Churchills was a mini-series about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. The miniseries presents the lives of John and Sarah Churchill from their meeting in 1673 until a time shortly before the first duke's death in 1722, and shows, along the way, much of the context of English politics at the same time.

Fess Parker starred as legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone who conducted surveys, interacted with friendly and hostile Native Americans, and fought for the American cause during the Revolutionary War all the while providing wise leadership to the new Kentucky settlement of Boonesborough. Daniel was aided in his adventures by Oxford educated Cherokee Mingo, lovely redheaded wife Rebecca, precocious son Israel, teenage daughter Jemima, tavern keeper Cincinnatus, runaway slave turned Native American chief Gabriel Cooper, and amiable oafs Yadkin and Josh Clements.

Captain Pugwash is a fictional pirate in a series of British children's comic strips and books created by John Ryan. The character's adventures were adapted into a TV series, using cardboard cut-outs filmed in live-action (the first series was performed and broadcast live), also called Captain Pugwash, first shown on the BBC in 1957, a later colour series, first shown in 1974–75, and a traditional animation series, The Adventures of Captain Pugwash, first aired in 1998The eponymous hero – Captain Horatio Pugwash – sails the high seas in his ship called the Black Pig, ably assisted by cabin boy Tom, pirates Willy and Barnabas, and Master Mate. His mortal enemy is Cut-Throat Jake, captain of the Flying Dustman.

Set in the Louisiana Territory around 1830, wealthy planter Jim Bowie encounters many famous people in New Orleans or the backwoods, relying for protection on the knife he supposedly invented after his regular one broke in a fight with a grizzly.

The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel is an ITV series about an enigmatic adventurer who risks his life to save innocent French aristocrats from the guillotine during Robespierre s revolutionary Terror.