Alex Jennings

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 British Empire is in decline, the political world is in disarray, and a young woman takes the throne ... a new era is dawning. Queen Elizabeth II is a 25-year-old newlywed faced with the daunting prospect of leading the world's most famous monarchy while forging a relationship with legendary Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. The story of Queen Elizabeth II's reign of the United Kingdom, and how it helped to shaped the latter part of the twentieth...

Miss Matty's house is full of life and bustle. Her dream of having a child in the house has been realized in the birth of Tilly, daughter of her maid Martha and carpenter Jem. Elsewhere, the shadow of the railway still looms, but the line has been halted five miles outside Cranford, a disaster as far as Captain Brown is concerned. Meanwhile, as Mr. Buxton returns to town with his son, William, and his niece, Erminia, Miss Matty becomes concerned about...

"'There's nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns, ' proclaimed Octavia E. Butler. New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color showcases emerging and seasoned writers of many races telling stories filled with shocking delights, powerful visions of the familiar made strange. Between this book's covers burn tales of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their indefinable overlappings. These are authors aware of our many possible...

"This is a tale of murder. Or maybe that's not quite true. At its heart, it's a love story, isn't it? Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex-movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island. I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time -- it caused a real stir in the tabloids,...

Cranford [DVDC 4011 pt. 1]: Adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's novels, the five-episode miniseries Cranford focuses on female characters in the 19th-century British town to thematically contemplate encroaching modernity in rural England. With the camera roving house to house, each drama within the grander story is constructed of scenes featuring dialogue between several gossipy ladies obsessed with moral code, romantic ideas about courtship, and social...

The "dramatic story of the 20th century through Ursula's beloved younger brother Teddy -- would-be poet, heroic pilot, husband, father, and grandfather--as he navigates the perils and progress of a rapidly changing world. After all that Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge is living in a future he never expected to have." -- Ursula Todd's brother Teddy is an old man trying to come to grips with his post-War life and with a modern world...

Bill Masen works with triffids - an animalistic plant with poisonous venom, a wicked stinger and the ability to move around on three 'legs'. Hospitalised when he succumb to triffid venom in a lab accident, Masen misses seeing a world-changing night - a quirk of fate may just save his life...Strongly influenced by H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, Wyndham's post-apocalyptic novel displays some similarities to Wells' seminal sci-fi work. Yet, it remains...

"Lord, Teach Us to Pray" Deep with feelings of joy, fear, shame, awe, and at times inconsolable rage, the Psalms help readers express a range of emotions in their prayers and their daily lives. The book of Psalms will broaden and deepen your understanding and experience of prayer by following these examples from our spiritual ancestors. They teach us how to express our hearts to God. Enrich your prayers and know God more deeply as He invites you into...

"This Was a Man opens with a shot being fired, but who pulled the trigger, and who lives and who dies? In Whitehall, Giles Barrington discovers the truth about his wife Karin from the Cabinet Secretary. Is she a spy or a pawn in a larger game? Harry Clifton sets out to write his magnum opus, while his wife Emma completes her ten years as Chairman of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and receives an unexpected call from Margaret Thatcher offering her a...