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Categories: Drama: Classic & Period

  1. Finding Neverland

    Fact-based drama about events that inspired JM Barrie (Johnny Depp) to write Peter Pan.

    BBC Two

  2. Mrs Henderson Presents

    Judi Dench stars as a theatre owner whose idea of using on-stage nudity raises eyebrows.

    BBC Two

  3. Girl with a Pearl Earring

    Adaptation of Tracy Chevalier's hit novel, starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson.

    BBC Two

  4. Ballet Shoes

    When their adoptive father goes missing, three young girls must take to the stage.

    BBC One

  5. The Story of an African Farm

    Drama about three children who are brought up on a South African farm in the 1870s.

    BBC Two

  6. Persuasion

    Adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel about the enduring power of love.

    BBC Four

  7.

    Northanger Abbey

    Jane Austen's story of a girl whose head is full of romantic notions about the world.

    BBC Four

  8. The English Patient

    A badly burned pilot recounts a doomed love affair to the nurse tending him.

    BBC Two

  9. Miss Austen Regrets

    Jane appears happily unmarried, until she reflects on previous suitors and life choices.

    BBC One

  10. Anne Bronte - Agnes Grey

    A young woman dismays her family by choosing to earn her own living as a governess.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  11. The Name of the Rose

    Thriller set in an Italian monastery in the Middle Ages, based on Umberto Eco's novel.

    BBC Four

  12. The Merchant of Venice

    A Jewish moneylender seeks to forfeit a literal pound of flesh from his Christian nemesis.

    BBC Two

  13. The Postmaster by Alexander Pushkin

    A poor Russian postmaster is distraught when his beloved daughter runs away with a hussar.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  14. Einstein and Eddington

    British astronomer Arthur Eddington supports Albert Einstein's theories.

    BBC Two

  15. Kenneth Grahame - The Wind in the Willows

    Mole, Ratty, Toad and Badger's famous adventure dramatised and narrated by Alan Bennett.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  16. The Leopard

    Epic drama which details the slow fall from power of a Sicilian aristocrat.

    BBC Four

  17. Marie Lloyd, Queen of the Halls

    Three husbands, but thousands coming out for the funeral of the great music hall star.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  18. A Child's Christmas in Wales

    Dylan Thomas' magical poem, set in a small Welsh town. Read by singer Cerys Matthews.

    BBC Radio Wales

  19. The Gift of The Magi

    Cherrie McIlwaine reads the classic tale of a down at heel young couple at Christmas.

    BBC Radio Ulster

  20. Nicholas Nickleby

    Adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel starring Jamie Bell and Jim Broadbent.

    BBC Two

  21. As You Like It

    Adaptation of Shakespeare's pastoral comedy set in 19th-century Japan.

    BBC Two

  22.

    The Man Who Would Be King

    Colourful epic in which two British soldiers become godlike rulers in colonial India.

    BBC Four

  23. Honeydripper

    Drama. Ageing Tyrone Purvis tries to save his nightclub from being taken over by the mob.

    BBC Two

  24. The Admirable Crichton by JM Barrie

    Satire about the fortunes a perfect butler. Stars Russell Tovey.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  25. Noel Coward - The Better Half

    A wife's selflessness may conceal a hidden agenda. Surprisingly modern comedy.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  26. Alick Rowe - Odysseus on an Iceberg

    A comic re-telling of the legendary figure's protracted journey home from the Trojan War.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  27. Their Eyes Were Watching God

    Halle Berry plays a free-spirited woman, challenging her small-town in 1920s America.

    BBC One

  28. Breaking the Mould: The Story of Penicillin

    Drama uncovering the forgotten team involved in the development of penicillin.

    BBC Four

  29. Anna Sewell - Black Beauty

    A well-bred horse hits hard times and poor health due to overwork.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  30. Becoming Jane

    Anne Hathaway stars as the young Jane Austen, chronicling her romance with an Irishman.

    BBC Two

  31. Murder Rooms: the Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes

    Drama inspired by the real-life relationship between Arthur Conan Doyle and Joseph Bell.

    BBC Four

  32. Richard III

    Celebrating Maida Vale at 75, William Shakespeare's play about the tyrant's rise to power.

    BBC Radio 7

  33. George Orwell - Keep the Aspidistra Flying

    In 1930's London, would-be poet Gordon Comstock tries not to conform.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  34. Enid

    Surprising and illuminating drama about the life of children's storyteller Enid Blyton.

    BBC Four

  35. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum

    When a tornado lands Dorothy in Oz, she must battle her way to get back home...

    BBC Radio 4

  36. Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol

    Bitter miser Ebenezer Scrooge is taken on a ghostly journey of self-redemption.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  37. Hans Christian Andersen - The Snow Queen

    The classic, wintry fairy tale starring Diana Rigg, Bill Patterson and Dirk Bogarde.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  38. The Turn of the Screw

    A governess becomes fearful that something evil is stalking the children under her care.

    BBC One

  39. Cranford: Under the Bonnet

    Simon Woods goes behind the scenes to explore the success of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford.

    BBC Four

  40. Hamlet

    The Royal Shakespeare Company's modern-dress production of Shakespeare's great play.

    BBC Two

  41.

    Macbeth

    Orson Welles stars in and directs a controversial version of Shakespeare's play.

    BBC Two

  42. Little Women

    Film based on the Louisa May Alcott story about 1860s America. With Winona Ryder.

    BBC Two

  43. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

    In 18th-century France, a perfumier goes on a ruthless quest for the ultimate scent.

    BBC Two

  44. Water

    A girl is sent to live in a house of widows on the banks of the River Ganges.

    BBC Four

  45. David Pownall - Dreams and Censorship

    Shakespeare fears revolution over James I's translated Bible, with the Dream of St John.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  46. CS Lewis - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

    Four young Blitz evacuees from London stumble upon a mystical land of perpetual winter.

    BBC Radio 7

  47. Nicholas McInerny - Scrooge Blues

    One year after the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge - what of his business?

    BBC Radio 7

  48. Toast

    Adaptation of chef Nigel Slater's autobiography, chronicling his bittersweet childhood.

    BBC One

  49. CS Lewis - The Silver Chair

    Arriving in the enchanted land of Narnia, Eustace and Jill must find a missing Prince.

    BBC Radio 7

  50. Shakespeare - Twelfth Night

    The Bard's comedy of mistaken identity, cruel practical jokes and lovelorn suitors.

    BBC Radio 7

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