Podcast Episodes

George Bell

"I remember seeing him sitting on the bishops' bench, and I went to him and said, George, I believe you are going to make a speech. He replied, yes I…

13 years, 2 months ago

William Robinson

Gardener Carol Klein's great life is a Victorian hero of the wild garden, the writer and horticulturalist William Robinson. Matthew Parris presents, …

13 years, 4 months ago

Aubrey Beardsley

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen on the Victorian artist Aubrey Beardsley, whose shocking originality he compares to that of Alexander McQueen. Laurence's fir…

13 years, 4 months ago

John Stuart Mill

Max Mosley nominates the philosopher and proponent of personal liberty, John Stuart Mill, as his great life. With presenter Matthew Parris and biogra…

13 years, 4 months ago

Grigori Rasputin

What was so notable about Grigori Rasputin ? "The hypnotic power shining in his exceptional gaze," said one observer. The photos are indeed remarkab…

13 years, 5 months ago

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Matthew Parris talks to writer, broadcaster and 6Music presenter Stuart Maconie about the life of Ralph Vaughan Williams.

The expert witness is Em Ma…

13 years, 5 months ago

Jean Cocteau

Francesca Simon is a writer, journalist and - most famously - the creator of the "Horrid Henry" series of children's books

She describes herself as "a…

13 years, 5 months ago

Dick Francis

The date is 1956, Aintree, and Dick Francis is riding the Queen Mother's horse to victory in the Grand National. Except Devon Loch collapses bizarrel…

13 years, 5 months ago

George Orwell

Whilst at school, a young Alan Johnson was given some money by a teacher and told to go and buy four copies of any book for the school library.

He hea…

13 years, 8 months ago

Edith Wharton

"If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time." Edith Wharton is as well known for her wit as for her novels. Born in 1862, …

13 years, 8 months ago