Ocean State Libraries

While our new nation was suffering attacks from both within and without, John Adams had a vision of a nation of liberty and justice for all. He guided his peers--General George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson--in setting the values and agenda for a glorious, free America. Adams and his wife Abigail refined these ambitious democratic ideals, and their partnership became one of the most moving love stories in American history.

Recounts Mark Twain's life told primarily through his own words. Includes interviews with Hal Holbrook, Arthur Miller, William Styron and many others.

Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte face a bleak future, with their father half-blind, and troubled brother Branwell in decline. As their situation worsens, Charlotte sees that writing could offer a way out. This is the story of the sisters' great novels and their extraordinary battle for recognition.

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.

"As Victoria's reign continues into the 1840s, her Kingdom is witness to extraordinay events -- consititutional crises and scandals at court, the rise of the Chartist movement, the devasting Irish Potato Famine, and Europe swept by revolution. As the saga unfolds over vital moments in history, The Queen and Prince Albert must meet each public challenge while confronting profound personal changes"--

Few American artists have reached a wider audience or enjoyed more widespread popularity in their own lifetime than Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams had a profound impact on how Americans see the majesty or their continent and helped transform how people think and feel about the meaning of the natural world. A visionary photographer, a pioneer in photographic technique and a crusader for the environment, this portrait of Adams portrays the great artist and...

Season two follows Queen Elizabeth through the late 1950s and early '60s as she struggles to navigate a world that's changing around her. She must face the challenges of a new era, from the Suez Canal crisis to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, while preserving both the monarchy and her marriage.

Follows several generations in the lives of a slave family. The saga begins with Kunta Kinte, a West African youth captured by slave raiders and shipped to America in the 1700s. The family is depicted up until the Civil War, when Kunte Kinte's grandson gains his emancipation.

Drinks, drugs, unhappy love affairs, premature death: their own life stories were more tragic than the stories they wrote. Enter the world of the Brontë sisters, who poured out their frustrations, failures and personal tragedies in their classic works. Recreates the Victorian Era of Charlotte, Emily, Anne and their brother, Branwell, who retreated from life on the Yorkshire moors into a more complex fantasy world. Hoping for fame and success, their...

Profiles Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics. It is the first time in a major documentary television series that their individual stories have been interwoven into a single narrative. This seven-part, 14 hour film follows the Roosevelts for more than a century, from Theodore's birth in 1858 to Eleanor's death in 1962. Over the course of these years, Theodore would...