CROSSING THE LINES

ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH, THE: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A LANGUAGE

The remarkable story of a language that began as a minor Germanic dialect, to its position as a global language. This is also the story of the people who shaped the language.

BACK IN THE DAY: A MEMOIR

In this captivating memoir, Melvyn Bragg recalls growing up in the Cumbrian market town of Wigton, from his early childhood during the war to the moment he had to decide between staying on or spreading his wings. This is the tale of a boy who lived in a pub and expected to leave school at fifteen yet won a scholarship to Oxford. Derailed by a severe breakdown when he was thirteen, he developed a passion for reading and study - though that didn't stop him playing in a skiffle band or falling in love. It is equally the tale of the people and place that formed him. Bragg indelibly portrays his parents and local characters from pub regulars to vicars, teachers and hardmen, and vividly captures the community-spirited northern town - steeped in the old ways but on the cusp of post-war change. A poignant elegy to a vanished era as well as the glories of the Lake District, it illuminates what made him the writer, broadcaster and champion of the arts he is today.

IN OUR TIME: 25 CLASSIC NOVELS

In 1998, a brand new culture show was launched on Radio 4, featuring Melvyn Bragg and a panel of leading academics discussing the ideas, individuals and events that have shaped our world. In Our Time rapidly became one of radio's most well-loved programmes, regularly attracting over 2 million listeners eager to learn more about the topic of the week - which could be asteroids, Zoroastrianism or anything in between. This specially curated collection charts the evolution of the novel as a literary form throughout the past four centuries, analysing 25 works ranging from Cervantes' 17th century epic Don Quixote to George Orwell's 1945 political fable Animal Farm. Some of the best books of all time are examined and elucidated here, including Robinson Crusoe, Tristram Shandy, Emma, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Crime and Punishment, Ulysses and Mrs Dalloway. Three additional programmes, on 'The Novel', 'Victorian Realism' and 'Literary Modernism', set these masterpieces in their historical context.

IN OUR TIME: 25 JOURNEYS THROUGH THE HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD

Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the history of the Islamic world through its religion thinkers poetry empire and rulers 'An ever-growing library of wisdom' The Economist Since 1998 In Our Time has been the go-to radio programme for knowledge seekers and inquiring minds. Tackling big topics with a light touch it has introduced weekly audiences of over 2 million to subjects ranging from Romulus and Remus to the Renaissance. This special themed collection provides a focussed wide-ranging introduction to 25 of the ideas and events that shaped the Islamic world highlighting the numerous connections between Islamdom and the West throughout history. We learn the origins of Sharia law and how prophets became important to Islam Judaism and Christianity alike; discover how the Translation Movement introduced the Arabic world to Greek philosophy medicine engineering and maths; and find out how settlers and invaders from both East and West transformed and refashioned the civilisations they touched from the Arab Conquest Muslim Spain and the Volga Vikings to the Third Crusade and the Siege of Vienna. Here too are key scholars and writers among them al-Kindi the first significant thinker to reconcile philosophy and Islam; Averroes who worked to integrate Islamic theology with the rationality of Aristotle; Maimonides a titan of Jewish intellectual history who was much influenced by the Islamic world; and Rumi the Persian poet and Sufi mystic whose work transcends borders of time faith language and geography.

IN OUR TIME: 25 KEY FIGURES IN ANCIENT HISTORY

In Our Time is one of BBC Radio's most successful and best-loved programmes, with a weekly listenership of over two million. This special thematic collection focusses on some of the most important rulers, philosophers and writers of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. Across 25 episodes, presenter Melvyn Bragg and a panel of top-class academics engage in lively and eloquent conversation as they explore the lives, reputations and impact of these pivotal figures. Their subjects include emperors, statesmen, military leaders, authors, poets, playwrights, fabulists and theorists—among them Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, Socrates, Pythagoras, Ovid, Aesop and Sappho.

IN OUR TIME: 25 LANDMARKS IN MILITARY HISTORY

This special themed collection comprises the highlights of military history: 25 episodes exploring the most important conflicts of the past 3000 years, plus additional programmes discussing the history and future of war and key military themes. Here are discourses on the philosophy of warfare and Sun Tzu's hugely influential treatise The Art of War; analyses of slavery and empire and the concept of a 'just war'; as well as examinations of pivotal wars and battles including the Trojan War, the Third Crusade, the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Trafalgar, the War of 1812 and the Spanish Civil War.

IN OUR TIME: 25 PIONEERS IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 25 scientific pioneers who have shaped the development of science over 500 years 'Exemplifies what Radio 4 is all about and what makes it world class' The Guardian One of the bedrocks of Radio 4 In Our Time has entertained and fascinated millions of listeners since it was first broadcast in 1998. Each week Melvyn Bragg and a panel of leading academics discuss the big ideas that form the intellectual agenda of our age traversing an eclectic spectrum of topics from the alphabet to Absolute Zero. This specially curated collection introduces us to 25 of the best minds who have shaped the fields of science over the past five centuries. Beginning with an introductory episode 'The Scientist' it encompasses pioneers such as mathematicians Blaise Pascal Carl Friedrich Gauss Ada Lovelace and Emmy Noether; astronomers Johannes Kepler and William and Caroline Herschel; chemists Rosalind Franklin and Dorothy Hodgkin; and physicists Ernest Rutherford and Paul Dirac. Among the other famous names featured are Michael Faraday Louis Pasteur Thomas Edison Alan Turing and the Curies as well as the great naturalist Charles Darwin who is the subject of a 4-part special devoted to his life and work. Science students In Our Time fans and lovers of learning will relish these captivating wide-ranging discussions giving us unparalleled insight into the remarkable individuals whose ideas and inventions have transformed our world.

IN OUR TIME: 25 THINKERS WHO SHAPED MODERN PHILOSOPHY

First aired in 1998, In Our Time has become one of Radio 4's most beloved and enduring shows, regularly attracting an audience of over 2 million. Each week, Melvyn Bragg and his panel of guest experts take part in an erudite, stimulating discussion on subjects ranging from the Peasants' Revolt to plate tectonics, taking the listener on a fascinating tour through a wonderland of ideas. Collected in this special thematic anthology are 25 episodes showcasing notable individuals from Renaissance times to the present day who have transformed the way we think about the world. Included are philosophers such as Descartes, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Karl Marx, authors Albert Camus, Iris Murdoch, Mary Wollstonecraft and Simone de Beauvoir, psychoanalyst Carl Jung and many other celebrated thinkers. Also featured are programmes on key philosophical themes, traditions and theories, among them existentialism, empiricism and feminism.

THE MAID OF BUTTERMERE

In July 1802 a stranger arrived in the Lake District. His arrival was to put this beautiful corner of England at the centre of one of the greatest scandals of the day. It was his meeting wih Mary Robinson - "The Beauty of Buttermere" - daughter of a local innkeeper, which triggered these events.

THE MATTER OF THE NORTH: HOW THE NORTH OF ENGLAND SHAPED MODERN BRITAIN

In this captivating 10-part series, Melvyn Bragg brings all his enthusiasm, experience and expertise to a subject that has enthralled him his entire life: the importance of the North in shaping the United Kingdom. Joined by special guests including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Michael Parkinson, Joan Bakewell, David Hockney, Maxine Peake, Simon Armitage and Sir Geoffrey Boycott, he charts the ebb and flow of Northern power and influence, examining how one smallish geographical region came to have such an enormous effect on our culture worldwide: from science and philosophy to music and sport. Also included In Our Time: Hadrian's Wall, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss this famous archaeological monument, and the two-part series North and South: Across the Great Divide, which finds Ian Marchant travelling along England's North/South divide to ask what it really means - and see if it is shifting.

ON GIANT'S SHOULDERS

A study of twelve great scientists, from Archimedes to Crick & Watson, whose discoveries have changed the world.

RICH

Fascinating portrait of the actor Richard Burton.

THE ROUTES OF ENGLISH COMPLETE SERIES 1-4

Melvyn Bragg goes back to his home town of Wigton in Cumbria to see how English is developing-and how dialects are still spoken. He meets townspeople from all generations and walks of life, from octogenarian horse-dealer Tommy Miller to local poet Mary Haslam, and finds that the old ways of speaking are being lost.

THE SOLDIER'S RETURN

Returning from the war in Burma in 1946, Sam finds his Cumbrian home town barely changed, but war has changed him. Now he and his family find bonds stretched to breaking point as they strive to adjust and rebuild their lives.

A SON OF WAR

Sequel to 'The Soldier's Return' (5626). Even in peacetime the upheavals of war are still having an effect as Sam Richardson and his family strive to get on with their lives.

A TIME TO DANCE (X Rated)

A lifetime of restraint and placid affection erupts when a retired bank manager falls for a young girl. Set in Cumbria, this is an intensely moving evocation of an overwhelming passion and its destructive kernel of jealousy. X rated, sexual content and offensive language.