Catalog Search Results
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
Author
Series
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.
Author
Series
Summary
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...
Author
Series
Summary
"Mr Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in." -Evelyn Waugh
"Wodehouse is one of the funniest and most productive men who ever wrote in English. He is far from being a mere jokesmith: he is an authentic craftsman, a wit and humorist of the first water, the inventor of a prose style which is a...
9) 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...
10) Deck the halls
Pub. Date
[2007]
Summary
Two neighbors in a small New England town go to war when one of them decides to decorate his house with a so many Christmas lights that they are visible from space. The neighborhood is turned upside down as the families try to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
12) Mansfield Park
Pub. Date
2008
Summary
Fanny Price goes to live with prosperous relatives at Mansfield Park and must navigate a labyrinth of intrigues and affairs among the occupants of the house.
Pub. Date
c2006
Summary
Detective Jack Frost is called to investigate when a couple return from holiday to find the body of a complete stranger in their bed. He also becomes involved in a murder inquiry and uncovers a crime ring involved in the importing of endangered species and illegal animal goods.
15) The alchemist
Author
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...
Pub. Date
[2015]
Summary
Though crime is nothing new in Yorkshire, Catherine finds her world turned upside down when the man she blames for her daughter's death, Tommy Lee Royce, is released from prison. Meanwhile, a desperate father arranges a kidnapping with a local drug lord to receive his wealthy boss' ransom money. The plan spirals out of control, however, when Tommy becomes involved with the deal and takes things too far.
17) Dracula
Series
Pub. Date
c2007
Summary
A young man tries to cheat death by joining a sinister cult and unleashing the evil force of Count Dracula when he finds he has a horrible disease.
Pub. Date
[2019]
Summary
All is not well for brilliant but boorish Dr. Martin Ellingham as the hit British dramedy returns. To Martin's utter disgust, his medical practice remains under official scrutiny because of his pre-existing blood phobia, and he is forced to attend refresher courses starting with phlebotomy. His wife, Louisa, and aunt Ruth urge him to take this risk to his career seriously, but events conspire against him.
Pub. Date
[2011]
Summary
Following the death of DS Mel Silver, the Cold Case Unit is still in shock. The already intense DCI Boyd is clearly rocked by the loss of a valuable team member and now has a case that questions his own abilities. So it is left to Grace and Spence to try to keep the team stable and integrate the new members of the unit.