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Last broadcast on Mon, 14 Nov 2011, 21:30 on BBC Radio 4 (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
Andrew Marr discusses the writing of history with Peter Englund, Norman Davies Alison Weir and Boris Johnson. Norman Davies turns to the vanished kingdoms of Europe to explore an alternative history of the continent and to reclaim the stories of the vanquished. While the Swedish historian Peter Englund puts the lives of ordinary people throughout Europe at the heart of his re-telling of the First World War, the London mayor Boris Johnson celebrates the vitality of the capital through the lives of the great and good. Tudor specialist, Alison Weir who has published both academic history and historical fiction, argues against the blurring of these very distinct genres.
Produced by Katy Hickman.
NORMAN DAVIES
‘The past is a foreign country’ – a phrase that has never been more apt. Yet in his latest book, Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe, the historian Norman Davies shows the extent to which our present concerns and desires distort our view of the past. In a work which spans the fifth to the twentieth centuries, Davies tells the story of the kingdoms, duchies, empires and republics which once littered Europe but which have now disappeared. From the medieval juggernaut Alt Clud to Rusyn, the republic that existed for one day, the book questions the selectivity of our historical memory and asks whether, in the future, our own United Kingdom will be nothing more than a dim memory.
Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe is published by Allen Lane.
PETER ENGLUND
War brings out the best and worst of humanity: it inspires people to great feats of courage, but also leads to great cruelty and chilling brutality. In The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War, Swedish historian Peter Englund tries to capture the tragedy, absurdity, beauty and monotony of war. Drawing on diaries and letters, Englund tells the stories of twenty ordinary people from both sides of the conflict. From the muddy trenches of the Western Front to the tropics of Africa and the harsh winters of the Baltic, the book explores the role and reaction of the individual in one of the defining events of the twentieth century.
The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War is published by Profile Books.
BORIS JOHNSON
What makes London great? In his new book, Johnson’s Life of London: The People Who Made the City That Made the World, London Mayor Boris Johnson charts the rise of one of the world’s great cities through the lives of its people. From the literary genius of Geoffrey Chaucer to the scientific inventions of Robert Hooke, the business acumen of Dick Whittington and Lionel Rothschild to the artistic skill of J M W Turner and Keith Richards, Johnson explores the vibrancy of the city of London.
Johnson’s Life of London: The People Who Made the City That Made the World is published by Harper Press.
ALISON WEIR
What is the difference between historical fact and fiction? In the modern world of movie blockbusters and narrative-driven history, are the boundaries between truth and invention becoming blurred? The author and historian Alison Weir has experimented with both genres and insists the two must remain distinct. In her book on Mary Boleyn: ‘The Great and Infamous Whore’, Weir explores the facts of her sullied reputation and attempts to peel away the layers of myth surrounding one of the most enigmatic figures of Tudor times.
Mary Boleyn: ‘The Great and Infamous Whore’ is published by Jonathan Cape. Alison will also be taking part in Novel approaches: from academic history to historical fiction at the Institute of Historical Research on Friday 18 November.
Broadcasts
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Mon 14 Nov 201109:00
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Mon 14 Nov 201121:30
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