19th-century English novelists
Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security.
6 episodes
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Benjamin Disraeli
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most famous politicians of the Victorian age, who broadened his fame and spread his ideas through popular novels.
19 September 2024
Featuring: Lawrence Goldman, Emily Jones, Daisy Hay
HistoryFellows of the Royal SocietyEnglish Anglicans19th-century English poetsEnglish male novelistsEnglish non-fiction writersVictorian novelists19th-century English novelistsVictorian era19th-century Anglicans19th-century English dramatists and playwrightsKnights of the GarterWriters from the London Borough of Camden19th-century English politiciansEnglish biographersLords Privy SealMembers of the Privy Council of the United KingdomPeople of the Victorian eraRectors of the University of GlasgowUK MPs 1865–1868Dickens
Melvyn Bragg discusses the achievements of Charles Dickens What is his political and literary legacy to our age?
12 July 2001
Featuring: Rosemary Ashton, Michael Slater, John Bowen
CultureWriters about activism and social changeEnglish male poetsCritics of the Catholic ChurchEnglish male non-fiction writersBurials at Westminster AbbeyEnglish AnglicansBritish male essayists19th-century English poetsEnglish male novelistsVictorian novelistsLiteracy and society theoristsEnglish male dramatists and playwrights19th-century English novelists19th-century pseudonymous writersEnglish male short story writersEnglish travel writersWriters of Gothic fictionEnglish satirists19th-century English non-fiction writersBritish critics of religionsTrope theorists19th-century British short story writers19th-century British philanthropistsEnglish philanthropistsAnglican writers19th-century English dramatists and playwrightsWriters from the London Borough of CamdenBritish social reformersLecturers19th-century English essayists19th-century travel writersEnglish reformersEnglish prisoners and detaineesPeople from Somers Town, London19th-century British journalistsEnglish historical novelists, 19th-century English historiansFanny Burney
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the 18th-century writer Fanny Burney, also known as Frances D'Arblay and Frances Burney, best known for her novel Evelina.
23 April 2015
Featuring: Nicole Pohl, Judith Hawley, John Mullan
CultureEnglish essayists19th-century English novelistsEnglish women poetsEnglish women novelistsEnglish satiristsConversationalists19th-century English women writersWriters from London19th-century English dramatists and playwrightsEnglish pamphleteersBritish women essayists18th-century English novelistsStreathamites18th-century English diarists18th-century English women writersEnglish women dramatists and playwrightsWriters from King's LynnHarriet Martineau
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Harriet Martineau who wrote extensively in the C19th on a wide range of subjects including abolition, and is called the mother of sociology.
8 December 2016
Featuring: Valerie Sanders, Karen O'Brien, Ella Dzelzainis
HistoryVictorian novelists19th-century atheists19th-century English novelistsEnglish travel writersEnglish atheistsEnglish women novelists19th-century English women writersEnglish abolitionistsFeminism and historyEnglish women philosophersWriters from NorwichEnglish writers with disabilities19th-century British economistsEnglish Unitarians19th-century English philosophersBritish women essayistsEnglish suffragistsVictorian women writersBritish scientists with disabilitiesBritish atheism activistsEnglish people of French descentPositivists19th-century English short story writersEnglish historical novelists, 19th-century English historiansRudyard Kipling
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Rudyard Kipling, a writer sometimes described as the poet of empire.
16 October 2014
Featuring: Howard Booth, Daniel Karlin, Jan Montefiore
CultureBurials at Westminster AbbeyNobel laureates in LiteratureEnglish people of Scottish descent19th-century English poetsEnglish male novelistsVictorian novelists19th-century English novelistsEnglish male short story writers20th-century English poets20th-century English male writers19th-century English non-fiction writersEnglish Nobel laureates20th-century English novelistsFellows of the Royal Society of LiteratureBritish Nobel laureatesMythopoeic writersPeople of the Victorian era19th-century English short story writersMaritime writersEnglish-language poets from India20th-century English memoiristsDeaths from ulcersEnglish children's writersEnglish hymnwritersEnglish science fiction writersFreemasons of the United Grand Lodge of EnglandRectors of the University of St AndrewsEnglish anti-fascistsThomas Hardy's Poetry
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Hardy's poems, which he prized far above the novels which made him famous and rich, and his ambition to be ranked alongside Shelley and Byron.
13 January 2022
Featuring: Mark Ford, Jane Thomas, Tim Armstrong
CultureBurials at Westminster AbbeyPantheists19th-century English poetsEnglish male novelistsVictorian novelists19th-century English novelistsEnglish male short story writersVictorian poets20th-century English male writersMembers of the Order of Merit19th-century British short story writersEnglish short story writersFellows of the Royal Society of LiteratureAlumni of King's College LondonBritish male poets