England, my England

Henry Purcell was, and is, England's greatest composer. But much of his life is a complete enigma. Exactly where was he born? And when? Who was his father? And where did he live during his tragically short life? All we know for certain is that he wrote over a thousand major works. The late 17th century, the time of Purcell, was an astonishing moment in English history. The scientist Isaac Newton, Christopher Wren - the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral, the poets John Bunyan and Dryden,... these are some of the irrepressible characters who peopled the age, and the film. And there is King Charles II and his thirty-nine mistresses...