'Melvyn Bragg's account of the passionate and painful love affair between the 12th century radical theologian, Peter Abelard, and the brilliant young convent-educated Eloise springs magnificently to life . . . Thrilling.' Piers Plowright, Tablet Paris in 1117. Heloise, a brilliant young scholar, is astonished when the famous, radical philosopher, Peter Abelard, consents to be her tutor. But what starts out as a meeting of minds turns into a passionate, dangerous love affair, which incurs terrible retribution. Nine centuries later, Arthur is in Paris to recreate the extraordinary story of Heloise and Abelard in a novel. To his surprise, his daughter visits and agrees to help, challenging his portraits of a couple who seem often inscrutable, sometimes breathtakingly modern. It soon emerges she is on her own mission to discover more about her parents' fractured relationship - and that Arthur's connection to his subject is more emotional than he cares to admit.

Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize Disillusioned with his successful life in London, Richard Godwin moves to a remote Cumberland village in search of a more fulfilling existence. His arrival coincides with a birth of an illegitimate child to a local woman, binding her to a future she had hoped to escape. As these two outsiders struggle to come to terms with themselves - and each other - their passion, desperation and delight draw all those around them into conflict. 'As near to being a work of art as makes no difference. I became more and more deeply and enjoyably immersed' The Times

The Seventh Seal is probably Bergman's best-known work and the film that most clearly bears the director's unmistakeable signature. The opening scene sets the tone: a stony beach under a leaden sky, the knight alone with his thoughts, then the approach of black-clad Death, whom the knight invites to play a game of chess. Bergman's medieval allegory of faith and doubt is dark with the horrors of witch-burnings and the plague. But it is also shot through with bright flashes of peace and joy, symbolised in the milk and wild strawberries offered to the knight by an innocent family of actors. In his compelling appreciation, Melvyn Bragg describes his own first encounter as a student with this extraordinary film, and how it revealed to him another cinema, quite different from the Hollywood he had grown up with. He recounts too his later meeting with Bergman himself, and how the marks of the director's powerful personality are everywhere in this troubling and inspiring masterpiece.

Based on Melvyn Bragg's stirring novel of rural and industrial working life early in the twentieth century, The Hired Man tells of one family's - Bragg's grandparents' - journey from land laborers to colliers and back to the land. The superb score is a marvelous succession of chorales, operatic duets and vigorous foot stomping rhythms.5 women, 14 men

Part One: The History (What do we know?) This brief historical introduction to William Tyndale explores the social, political and religious factors that formed the original context of his life and writings, and considers how those factors affected the way he was initially received. What was his impact on the world at the time and what were the key ideas and values connected with him? Part Two: The Legacy (Why does it matter?) This second part explores the intellectual and cultural `afterlife' of William Tyndale, and considers the ways in which his impact has lasted and been developed in different contexts by later generations. Why is he still considered important today? In what ways is his legacy contested or resisted? And what aspects of his legacy are likely to continue to influence the world in the future? The book has a brief chronology at the front plus a glossary of key terms and a list of further reading at the back.

Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time series regularly enlightens and entertains substantial audiences on BBC Radio 4. For this book he has selected episodes which reflect the diversity of the radio programmes, and takes us on an amazing tour through the history of ideas, from philosophy, physics and history to religion, literature and biology. We can discover the reasons for the fall of the Byzantine empire, and why women were persecuted as witches in the seventeenth century. What shape is the origin of life? Where does our calendar come from? We can unearth the influence of prime numbers, Socrates and Tectonic plates. Melvyn Bragg orchestrates the ideas of leading academics in each field so that the dynamic and lively discussion from the programmes comes through vividly on the page. IN OUR TIME brings to life the signposts of history, the moments that significantly changed the world as we know it, and the individuals and ideas that made us what we are today.

War drama starring Michael Caine. During World War II Captain Douglas (Caine) is sent to North Africa to lead a small group of mercenaries into the desert to knock out an enemy fuel reserve. However, there is friction between the Captain, veteran Colonel Masters (Nigel Green) and Cyril Leech (Nigel Davenport), head of the hired mercenaries, as they disagree on how to successfully carry out the mission. Things go from bad to worse when they find out that their assignment is a booby-trapped suicide mission, which threatens to end in pointless bloodshed.

Few books have made a greater impact, political as much as literary, than Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, perhaps the most famous of anti-war novels. Startling in its realism, moving in its humanity and banned and burned in Germany by the Nazis, it was an international publishing sensation. But who was Erich Maria Remarque? While the title of his masterpiece has entered the language as a catch-phrase, its author is virtually forgotten. In this biography, Hilton Tims attempts to reveal a man whose life was one of the most romantic and anguished of the 20th century.

'Melvyn not only makes you think ... he makes it enjoyable too. He's brilliant.' - John Humphrys, the Today Programme. 'In a troubled world where many sneer at experts, In Our Time is always a treat. Those who know what they're talking about, talk about it, and they do it under the benevolent if occasionally testy guidance of one who knows how to bring out the best in them. Listen, read, mark, and inwardly digest; agreeable glass of accompanying refreshment optional.' - Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch 'This beautifully produced and expertly edited book is a wonderfully rich and varied sample of 50 In Our Time programmes, from ancient Greek philosophy to dark matter via the gin craze. It will whet your appetite to visit or revisit the many hundreds of other programmes in this remarkable series.' - Professor Angela Hobbs 'Bragg gives short shrift to pretension of any kind, while remaining stalwart in his search for knowledge. His methodology in In Our Time is... not unlike that of a man throwing a stick at a dog: he chucks his questions ahead, and if the chosen academic fails to bring it right back, he chides them. He retains enough of his bluff Cumbrian origins not to be taken in by gambolling and tweedy high spirits.' - Will Self, from a February 2010 issue of London Review of Books In Our Time has been the cornerstone of broadcasting every Thursday morning on BBC Radio 4 for the past twenty years, with over 800 episodes since its launch in October 1998. Presented by one of Britain's greatest champions of the arts, Melvyn Bragg, the show explores ideas across history, religion, philosophy, science and culture. With a vast array of contributors from the world of academia, such as Mary Beard, Angie Hobbs and Diarmaid MacCulloch, it is one of Radio 4's most successful programmes, attracting a weekly live audience exceeding 2 million listeners, and, per episode, it is one of the world's most downloaded podcasts. To honour this major anniversary of BBC broadcasting, this beautifully illustrated book provides a lively and colourful guide to fifty of the most captivating discussions from the past two decades of In Our Time, as chosen by Melvyn and the producer Simon Tillotson, and, influenced by listeners who have recommended their favourite programmes from those years. Highlights include 'Romulus and Remus', 'The Death of Elizabeth I', 'Ada Lovelace', 'The Gin Craze', the 'Epic of Gilgamesh' and 'The Salem Witch Trials', and there are additional behind-the-scenes insights, peppered with Melvyn Bragg's remarks both on and off air. This is a captivating gift for all fans and a celebration of this iconic series.

'With this novel, Melvyn Bragg has established his place in English letters to the extent that his Cumbria is as potent a literary region as Hardy's Wessex, Lawrence's Midlands and Housman's Shropshire' New Statesman At once a love story and a portrayal of innocence brutally curtailed, Josh Lawton charts the rites of passage of a young Cumbrian farm worker and keen fell runner - an exceptionally good man whose very integrity proves his undoing. 'Every scene is clear, every character immediately recognisable . . . brilliant' Daily Telegraph 'The book is exciting . . . a pleasure to be remembered' Financial Times

War drama starring Michael Caine. During World War II Captain Douglas (Caine) is sent to North Africa to lead a small group of mercenaries into the desert to knock out an enemy fuel reserve. However, there is friction between the Captain, veteran Colonel Masters (Nigel Green) and Cyril Leech (Nigel Davenport), head of the hired mercenaries, as they disagree on how to successfully carry out the mission. Things go from bad to worse when they find out that their assignment is a booby-trapped suicide mission, which threatens to end in pointless bloodshed.

'The best thing he's ever written . . . I loved it' Observer Melvyn Bragg's first ever memoir - an elegiac, intimate account of growing up in post-war Cumbria, which lyrically evokes a vanished world. 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. 'A memoir bursting with affection . . . fascinating' Sunday Times

Richard Burton: star. The roaring boy from the Welsh coal valleys who came to sport on the banks of the old Nile, playing great Antony to Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra. From the West End to Hollywood, from Camelot to Shakespeare, he drank, dazzled and despaired, playing out his life on the public stage. But there was another, quieter, off-stage Richard Burton, a face hidden from the multitude. Melvyn Bragg, allowed free access to the never-before-revealed Burton private notebooks, and with the cooperation of friends who have never spoken about him before, has brought together the private and public sides for the first time. Rich is the complete Richard Burton: a revelation.

Since he burst on to the art scene in the mid-1960s, David Hockney has become one of the most successful modern British painters and also a popular personality, known for his passionate and skilled advocacy of art. When London's Tate Britain staged a major retrospective of his work, Melvyn Bragg joined David Hockney for an exclusive private view of the exhibition and they were filmed discussing pictures from all stages of the artist's remarkable career.

When we think of great events in the history of the world, we tend to think of war, revolution, political upheaval or natural catastrophe. But throughout history there have been moments of vital importance that have taken place not on the battlefield, or in the palaces of power, or even in the violence of nature, but between the pages of a book. In our digitised age of instant information it is easy to underestimate the power of the printed word. In his fascinating new book accompanying the ITV series, Melvyn Bragg presents a vivid reminder of the book as agent of social, political and personal revolution. Twelve Books that Changed the World presents a rich variety of human endeavour and a great diversity of characters. There are also surprises. Here are famous books by Darwin, Newton and Shakespeare -- but we also discover the stories behind some less well-known works, such as Marie Stopes' Married Love, the original radical feminist Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman -- and even the rules to an obscure ball game that became the most popular sport in the world ...

Melvyn Bragg's first ever memoir - an elegiac, intimate account of growing up in post-war Cumbria, which vividly evokes a vanished world. 'The best thing he's ever written . . . What a world he captures here. You can almost smell it' Rachel Cooke, Observer 'Wonderfully rich, endearing and unusual . . . a balanced, honest picture' Richard Benson, Mail on Sunday In this elegiac and heartfelt memoir, Melvyn Bragg recreates his youth in the Cumbrian market town of Wigton: a working-class boy who expected to leave school at fifteen yet who gained a scholarship to Oxford University; who happily roamed the streets and raided orchards with his gang of friends until a breakdown in adolescence drove him to find refuge in books. Vividly evoking the post-war era, Bragg draws an indelible portrait of all that formed him: a community-spirited northern town, still steeped in the old ways; the Lake District landscapes that inspired him; and the many remarkable people in his close-knit world. 'A charming account of a lost era, full of details and often lyrical descriptions of people and places . . . fascinating and often moving' Christina Patterson, Sunday Times

'Melvyn Bragg's account of the passionate and painful love affair between the 12th century radical theologian, Peter Abelard, and the brilliant young convent-educated Eloise springs magnificently to life . . . Thrilling.' Piers Plowright, Tablet Within the Cloisters of Notre-Dame, a charismatic philosopher and a young woman renowned for her scholarship embark on an ardent, secret affair. It will send shockwaves through Paris, incur savage retribution and lead to years of separation, though nothing will break the bond between them. Bringing the true story of Heloise and Abelard to vivid life, this engrossing novel conveys the powerful emotions and beliefs that drove them. It captures a couple who defied the conventions and religious orthodoxies of their times with striking audacity, and illuminates why their extraordinary tale still resonates today.

An enthralling tale set in the 7th century - the story of Bega, a young Irish princess who flees to Britain following the murder of the man she is supposed to marry, and her tutor Padric, a British prince with whom she falls in love. Bega devotes herself to spreading the Christian faith, but struggles all her life against her love for Padric. He tries to forget her in the fight to free his Cumbrian kingdom from the Northumbrian Teutonic invaders, which, after the momentous Synod of Whitby, becomes bound up in a bloody conflict between the Celtic and Roman churches. This dramatic, passionate novel brings to life a land of warring kings, Christians and pagans, and tribes divided by language and culture, illuminating a little-known yet critical period in British history.

Melvyn Bragg's highly acclaimed, bestselling historical novel, the story behind one of the 19th century's greatest scandals. 'This is the story of an impostor and bigamist, a self-styled Colonel Hope, who travels to the North, where eventually he marries "The Maid of Buttermere", a young woman whose natural beauty inspired the dreams and confirmed the theories of various early nineteenth-century writers . . . It is a fine story . . . This is historical fiction with a human face' Peter Ackroyd, The Times 'A skilled, ornate and convincing examination of a nineteenth-century scandal in Bragg's own Cumbria' Thomas Keneally 'A triumph . . . I am overwhelmingly impressed' Beryl Bainbridge 'Bragg achieves the most difficult of feats, the telling of the changing perceptions and ideals of a radical age . . . He is also as powerful as ever in his description of nature' Sunday Times

The fascinating story of science unfolds in this account of the lives and extraordinary discoveries of twelve of its greatest figures - Archimedes, Galileo, Newton, Lavoisier, Faraday, Darwin, Poincare, Freud, Einstein, Marie Curie and Crick and Watson. Exploring their impact and legacy with leading scientists of today including Stephen Jay Gould, Oliver Sacks, Lewis Wolpert, Susan Greenfield, Roger Penrose and Richard Dawkins, Melvyn Bragg illuminates the core issues of science past and present, and conveys the excitement and importance of the scientific quest.

The King James Bible has often been called the Book of Books both in itself and in what it stands for. Since its publication in 1611 it has been the best selling book in the world, and many believe, had the greatest impact. The King James Bible has spread the Protestant faith. It has also been the greatest influence on the enrichment of the English language and its literature. It has been the Bible of wars from the British Civil War in the seventeenth century to the American Civil War two centuries later and it has been carried into battle in innumerable conflicts since then. Its influence on social movements - particularly involving women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries - and politics was profound. It was crucial to the growth of democracy. It was integral to the abolition of slavery and it defined attitudes to modern science, education and sex. As THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH explored the history of our language, so THE BOOK OF BOOKS reveals the extraordinary and still-felt impact of a work created 400 years ago.

Set in Cumbria and covering the period from 1898 to the early twenties, this is the powerful saga of John Tallentire, first farm labourer, then coal miner, and his wife Emily. John's struggle to break free from the humiliating status of a 'hired man' is the theme of a novel which has been hailed as a classic of its kind - as meticulously detailed as a social document, as evocative as the writings of Hardy and Lawrence.

Douglas Tallentire has at last achieved what his father and grandfather before him fought for so bitterly. Educated and independent, he can carve out his own career and spread his wings. But success, freedom and happiness are more elusive than ever in the fiercely competitive Seventies. From Cumbria to the frenetic whirl of sophisticated life in New York and London, Douglas, like all the Tallentires, must come to terms with private uncertainty and pain.

Joseph Tallantire has hope and ambition - like his father before him he is determined to make something of himself and improve his lot. But life is not easy for an uneducated young man in Cumberland before and during World War II, and Joseph's struggle against the odds is the subject of this moving and evocative novel. Suffering hardship and humiliation but eventually achieving a position of some independence, Joseph serves as a tribute to the many like him who lived through one of Britain's periods of greatest social change.

'Unsentimental, truthful and wonderful' Beryl Bainbridge, Independent Books of the Year When Sam Richardson returns in 1946 from the 'Forgotten War' in Burma to Wigton in Cumbria, he finds the town little changed. But the war has changed him, broadening his horizons as well as leaving him with traumatic memories. In addition, his six-year-old son now barely remembers him, and his wife has gained a sense of independence from her wartime jobs. As all three strive to adjust, the bonds of loyalty and love are stretched to breaking point in this taut, and profoundly moving novel. 'An outstandingly good novel...utterly credible, utterly compelling, and very enjoyable' Allan Massie, Scotsman 'Deeply felt, beautifully realised' John Sutherland, Sunday Times 'The first Great War came alive in Faulks's Birdsong; the second Great War, and in particular the Burma campaign, comes very much alive in Melvyn Bragg's The Soldier's Return - wholly absorbing' John Bayley, Evening Standard 'Sympathetic, touching, infinitely believable...This is a highly accomplished novel' D.J. Taylor, Literary Review