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Categories: Drama: Classic & Period

  1. Pride and Prejudice

    Andrew Davies's award winning adaptation of Jane Austen's classic Regency romance.

    BBC

  2. Barnaby Rudge

    Mini-series based on Charles Dickens classic novel set amidst the Gordon riots of 1780.

    BBC

  3. Hound of the Baskervilles

    Tom Baker and Terence Rigby star in this adaptation of the classic Sherlock Holmes story.

    BBC

  4. Nicholas Nickleby

    Adaptation of Charles Dickens’ tale of the life and adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.

    BBC

  5. Casanova

    Dennis Potter offers his take on the famed Italian adventurer and libertine, Casanova.

    BBC

  6. Tender is the Night

    Adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel. Written by Dennis Potter.

    BBC

  7. Christabel

    Dennis Potter’s dramatization of Christabel Bielenberg's extraordinary wartime memoirs.

    BBC

  8. Wessex Tales

    Adaptations of a selection of short stories by Thomas Hardy.

    BBC

  9. Diana

    Jan is a poor country lad, who meets Diana, the daughter of a rich landowner.

    BBC

  10. The Way We Live Now

    David Suchet stars in Anthony Trollope’s epic tale of Victorian power and corruption.

    BBC

  11. The Railway Children

    Dramatisation of E Nesbit’s classic tale about three children who move to Yorkshire.

    BBC

  12. Aristocrats

    Chronicling the lives of the Lennox sisters in eighteenth century England.

    BBC

  13. The Diary of Anne Frank

    A four-part adaptation of one of the most heart-rending stories of World War II.

    BBC

  14. An Age of Kings

    An adaptation of Shakespeare’s fifteen sequential history plays.

    BBC

  15. My Cousin Rachel

    Four-part adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's tale of obsession, paranoia and jealousy.

    BBC

  16. Notorious Woman

    Drama following the life of the French novelist George Sand.

    BBC

  17. The Phoenix and the Carpet

    Adaptation of E Nesbit’s story about an Edwardian family’s magical adventures.

    BBC

  18. Tipping the Velvet

    A tempestuous love story between Victorian women, adapted from the novel.

    BBC

  19. Our Mutual Friend

    A twelve part dramatisation of the classic Charles Dickens novel.

    BBC

  20. Crime and Punishment

    Psychological thriller based on Dostoyevsky's literary masterpiece, starring John Hurt.

    BBC

  21. To Serve Them All My Days

    A shell-shocked veteran returns from the trenches, and starts a job at a boarding school.

    BBC

  22. Mr Wroe’s Virgins

    In 1830s Lancashire, an apocalyptic prophet has seven virgins to serve him.

    BBC

  23. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

    The swashbuckling legend of Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) and his band of outlaws.

    BBC One

  24. Jude

    A stonemason's aspirations are thwarted by unyielding social convention.

    BBC Two

  25. Pandaemonium

    The story of the relationship between Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth.

    BBC Four

  26. The Horseman on the Roof

    Lavish historical romance set in Provence during the 19th-century cholera epidemic.

    BBC Two

  27. Whistle and I'll Come to You

    Jonathan Miller's chilling adaptation of an MR James ghost story of solitude and terror.

    BBC Four

  28. The Signalman

    Charles Dickens's ghost story in which a signalman is haunted by a hooded figure.

    BBC One

  29. The Lady and the Duke

    Period drama. A Scottish aristocrat's friendship with a French duke is put into question.

    BBC Four

  30. Twelfth Night

    Shakespeare's comedy starring Steven Mackintosh and Imogen Stubbs.

    BBC Two

  31. Eroica

    Factual drama about the genesis of Beethoven's Symphony No 3, the Eroica.

    BBC Two

  32.

    Breaking the Code

    Factual drama about Alan Turing, the mathematical genius who cracked the Enigma code.

    BBC Four

  33. The Clandestine Marriage

    Farcical period comedy set in the 18th century about arranged marriage.

    BBC Two

  34. Wide Sargasso Sea

    A Creole heiress and a brooding Englishman fall in love, only to be torn apart by rumours.

    BBC Four

  35. Joseph Andrews

    Henry Fielding's tale of an innocent 18th-century footman and his romantic misadventures.

    BBC Two

  36. The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton

    Feisty costume drama portraying the reality behind an enduring cultural icon.

    BBC Four

  37. No.13: A Ghost Story

    MR James ghost story. An academic has his sleep disturbed by the subject of his research.

    BBC Four

  38. Judith French - The Dutch Mariner

    The myth that inspired The Flying Dutchman. Stars Gerard Murphy.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  39. Adam Thorpe - Nought Happens Twice Thus

    Adam Thorpe's play about Thomas Hardy's strained marriage with his second wife Florence.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  40. William Wordsworth - Michael

    Michael is a shepherd whose life is changed forever by the arrival of a son.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  41. Julie and the Prince

    A marriage of blackmail and convenience becomes a love affair, tragically cut short.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  42. The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy

    The highly charged tale of two women in the grip of passions beyond their control.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  43. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    A green knight issues a challenge - a test of courage and heart.

    BBC Radio 4

  44. King Lear on Boxing Day

    Francine Stock and a studio of guest stars recreate the 1606 opening night of King Lear.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  45. The Anatomy of Melancholy

    King James I sets out to discover a remedy for melancholy.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  46. Nell Gwyn

    The story behind the cockney dance hall girl who caught the eye of Charles II.

    BBC Two

  47. Shakespeare Shorts

    The Globe Theatre provides a stunning re-creation of Shakespeare's work.

    BBC Two

  48. The Seven Year Itch

    Comedy about a New York publisher whose marriage is put to the test by a beautiful model.

    BBC Two

  49.

    The Magnificent Ambersons

    The story of the rise and fall of a great American family, directed by Orson Welles.

    BBC Two

  50. Wings of the Dove

    A poor young couple encounter a wealthy girl who is suffering from a terminal illness.

    BBC One

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