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Alexander Baron

Alexander Baron

Writing

Biography

Alexander Baron (1917-1999) was a novelist and screenwriter. Born into a working class Jewish home in Hackney, Baron joined the Communist Party as a young man, saw the thick of battle in Sicily and Normandy during WWII, and became one of the most admired novelists of post-war Britain. His first novel, From the City, From the Plough (1948) was based on his own wartime experiences, specifically D-Day, and was acclaimed as the definitive novel of WWII. It was the first of a trilogy, including There's No Home (1950) and The Human Kind (1953), the latter of which was adapted into the film The Victors (1963). Literary success led to him writing screenplays for films such as Robbery Under Arms (1957) and The Siege of Sidney Street (1960). This was followed by a string of novels about working class life in post-war London, including The Lowlife (1963), a cult novel for many other writers ever since, and a secondary career as a TV scriptwriter, specifically adapting literary classics like The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (1967), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), A Horseman Riding By (1978), Sense and Sensibility (1981), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1982), Stalky & Co. (1982) Jane Eyre (1983), Goodbye Mr. Chips (1984), Oliver Twist (1985) and Vanity Fair (1987). In recent years, Baron's reputation has flourished, with many of his fifteen novels now back in print.

Known For

Sherlock Holmes
8.2

Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.

Sherlock Holmes

1984
Playhouse
7.0

A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.

Playhouse

1974
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
7.5

An anthology series produced by Thames Television, comprised of short mystery, suspense or crime adaptations featuring, as the title suggests, detectives who were literary contemporaries of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

1971
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N/A

Drama 61-67 is anthology drama series which took a different title, based on year of transmission, each year. It alternated with Armchair Theatre from ABC in the Sunday evening slot. The series was described at the time as epitomising ATV drama.

Drama 61-67

1961
Poldark
6.9

Poldark is a television drama based on Winston Graham's novels of the same title. It was first transmitted on BBC Two across two seasons between 1975 and 1977. The adaptation covered all seven novels (of the eventual twelve) published up to the time. In late 18th-century Cornwall, Ross Poldark loses his fiancée, well-bred beauty Elizabeth, to his cousin Francis. He ends up marrying his servant, Demelza Carne, but his passion for Elizabeth simmers on for years. Meanwhile, he strives to make his derelict copper mines a success. Life is hard, smuggling is rife, and Ross finds himself taking the side of the underclass against the ruthless behaviour of his enemies, the greedy Warleggan clan.

Poldark

1975
Jane Eyre
7.2

After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Edward Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?

Jane Eyre

1983
Armchair Theatre
6.0

Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.

Armchair Theatre

1956
Oliver Twist
5.9

When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin known as the Artful Dodger and his criminal mentor, Fagin. When kindly Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver in, Fagin's evil henchman Bill Sikes plots to kidnap the boy.

Oliver Twist

1985
The Legend of Robin Hood
7.4

The Legend of Robin Hood was a 1975 BBC television serial that told the story of the life of Robin Hood.

The Legend of Robin Hood

1975
The Further Adventures of the Musketeers
7.7

The Further Adventures of the Musketeers was a BBC drama series and a follow-up to the 1966–67 10-episode serial The Three Musketeers. Based on Alexander Dumas' novel Twenty Years After, this 16-episode series follows Athos, Porthos and Aramis, along with new recruit d'Artagnan, as they continue to protect the name and throne of the King.

The Further Adventures of the Musketeers

1967
Vanity Fair
N/A

In early 19th century England, ambitious and ruthless orphan Rebecca Sharp advances from the position of governess to the heights of British society.

Vanity Fair

1987
Sense and Sensibility
6.7

A story of two sisters attempting to find happiness in the tightly structured society of 18th century England. Elinor, disciplined, restrained and very conscious of the manners of the day, represents sense. Outspoken, impetuous, emotional Marianne represents sensibility.

Sense and Sensibility

1981
A Horseman Riding By
7.0

A Horseman Riding By is a 13-part BBC television serial produced by Ken Riddington, and adapted by Arden Winch, Alexander Baron, and John Wiles from R.F. Delderfield's 1966-68 historical novel series of the same name. Having been invalided out of the Boer War, Paul Craddock buys Shallowford, a manor house and estate in Devon, with money from his late father's scrapyard business. He soon becomes a much-respected 'Squire' determined to treat all his tenant farmers fairly, unlike his predecessor.

A Horseman Riding By

1978
The Hound of the Baskervilles
6.3

When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate. A British television serial based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

1982
Goodbye Mr Chips
8.5

Goodbye Mr Chips is a 1984 BBC television miniseries based on James Hilton's 1934 novella of the same name. Adapted by Alexander Baron and directed by Gareth Davies, the six-episode serial stars Roy Marsden as the title character. Over several decades throughout the late 19th-century and early 20th-century, Mr Charles Chipping rises from a shy, nervous teacher to the beloved, revered headmaster of Brookfield School, with his life and career shaped by his love for his wife and his unwavering dedication to his students.

Goodbye Mr Chips

1984
The Victors
6.4

Intercutting dramatic vignettes with newsreel footage, the story follows the characters from an infantry squad as they make their way from Sicily to Germany during the end of World War II.

The Victors

1963
The Siege of Sidney Street
4.5

A police inspector (Donald Sinden) tracks down Russian anarchist Peter the Painter (Peter Wyngarde) and his gang in circa-1911 London.

The Siege of Sidney Street

1960
Robbery Under Arms
5.2

During the mid 1860s, brothers Dick and Jim Marston are drawn into a life of crime by their ex-convict father Ben and his friend, infamous cattlethief Captain Starlight. Making their way to Melbourne with the proceeds of a recent raid, the brothers meet and romance the Morrison sisters, Kate and Jean, whom they eventually marry; but just as they are poised to start a new life in America, Captain Starlight and his gang arrive in town, planning a raid at the local bank.

Robbery Under Arms

1957
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7.0

Stalky & Co. is a faithful adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name (less one chapter and the afterstory chapter). Kipling was telling tales based on his own public school experiences as a boy (he is 'Beetle' in the book), and he did an excellent job of capturing the tenor of life in 'the Coll,' a school that catered to boys who would go on to govern and defend the British Empire in the Civil Service, Foreign Service and the military.

Stalky & Co

1982
The Siege of Pinchgut
6.3

An escaped prisoner is trying to clear his name.

The Siege of Pinchgut

1959