John Irving

A young man, Bert Cates, is arrested in a small Bible Belt town for teaching the theory of Evolution in the public school. Two of the finest legal minds in the U.S. are called to the trial: Henry Drummond for the defense, and Matthew Harrison Brady for the prosecution. The trial proceeds on three levels, the guilt or innocence of Cates, the issue of the Bible vs. Darwin, and finally, the personal confrontation between Drummond and Brady.

Can Professor Higgins transform cockney flower girl Eliza Dolittle into a lady by teaching her to speak properly?

Asked by Francis I to tutor his son, Diane de Poitiers becomes the future King Henry II's mistress in 1500s France.

A French ballerina falls in love with an American paratrooper on a two day pass in London near the end of World War II.

A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against a usurper who has overthrown the rightful king of England.