The Miniaturist

A young clergyman and a down-to-earth cop team up to fight crime.

In 1895, women were not expected to work in - or even know about - medicine. Women were expected to work as housewives, mothers, teachers and nurses. One woman was determined to change that. Eleanor Bramwell works under Sir Herbert Hamilton's supervision. She isn't happy. After he stupidly loses a perfectly healthy young mother, Eleanor decides it is time to make her mark in medical history. Mocked by fellow medical students and questioned by her father, Doctor Robert Bramwell, Eleanor is soon given a renovated building - by donation of the kind Lady Cora Peters - and begins her own infirmary - The Thrift. But with all odds against her, will she survive? Will she make her dream come true? Will her colleagues trust her?

Ross Poldark returns to England after fighting in the American Revolution. His family and friends thought he was dead. The woman he hoped to marry is now engaged to his cousin. His father is dead, and the property he has inherited has been allowed to deteriorate. It is the late 1700s in Cornwall, England. This is a family drama, but is also about the challenges and conflicts between the rich and the poor. It is a time when fishermen are not catching much fish, tin and copper mines are closing down because prices are too low, but the price of food and rents are high. Ross faces the challenge of making his land productive, caring for the tenants who rely on him, and trying to win back the woman he loved - or finding a reason to live without her.

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the King dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope and most of Europe oppose him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer, and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

Louisa is an ordinary girl living in Victorian London. She is looking for a job, and ends up talking her way into the kitchen of a Lord's townhouse. The Lord has a rather snooty French chef. Louisa quickly develops a strong desire to become a top cook, although women back then were not chefs. Through hard work and sheer determination she wins over the chef and he begins to teach her his art. She quickly proves that she has a huge talent in the art of cooking. This brings her to the attention of three very different men, all of which will play huge but very different roles in her future. Partly because of whom she knows, but mostly by her own extremely strong will and work ethic, she goes on to be very successful in a time when independent women were something of an oddity.

Masterpiece (formerly known as Masterpiece Theatre) is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these are produced by the BBC, but the line-up has also included programs shown on the UK commercial channels ITV and Channel 4.