THE FINAL NOVEL IN 'ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED LITERARY SERIES IN RECENT TIMES' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)'Eclipses anything Bragg has written before'Daily Mirror'Utterly absorbing'Scotsman'A terrific book'Daily Mail'A powerful novel that communicates difficult emotional truths'The TimesA passionate ...

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

'It is all rather irresistible . . . the book ripples with warmth'The Times'Poignant and lyrical'**Spectator'Another World attractively maps out the stage in his odyssey between humble pub and broadcasting glory'**Daily Telegraph'A poignant read about awakening ambitio...

THE FIRST NOVEL IN 'ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED LITERARY SERIES IN RECENT TIMES' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)'His masterpiece'Sunday Times'Outstandingly good'Scotsman'A great achievement'ObserverWhen 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 ...

'A gripping saga of great passion'The Times'As splendid a ripping yarn as any of the best classics'Daily Telegraph'I loved it . . . [a] stately, seething, passionate epic'Literary ReviewBritain during the Dark Ages is the setting for the fascinating story of Bega, a young Irish princess who became a saint, and her lifelong bond with Padric, prince of the north-western ...

'Superb'Spectator'C****onsistently entertaining'Independent'Impressive and sage'New Statesman'Bragg's affection for his subject is infectious'ObserverEnglish is the collective work of millions of people throughout the ages. It is democratic, ever-changing and ingenious in its assimilation of other cultures. English runs through ...

The Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller celebrating 400 years of the King James Bible.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...

In this gripping novel, Melvyn Bragg brings an extraordinary episode in English history to fresh, urgent life.At the end of May 1381, the fourteen-year-old King of England had reason to be fearful: the plague had returned, the royal coffers were empty and a draconian poll tax was being widely evaded. Yet Richard, bolstered by his powerful, admired mother, felt secure in his God-given right to reign. But within two weeks, the unthinkable happened: a vast force of common people invad...

'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, TabletWithin 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 le...

One August bank holiday, Ted Johnson wakes to a day of reckoning - with his past in Cumberland, his present in London and his fantasies. An inflamed nerve troubles his eye as he veers between elation and despair, overwhelmed by the noise and bustle of the streets, unable to connect even with a visiting girlfriend. Written in 1971, Melvyn Bragg's sixth novel draws a remarkable portrait of a man's courageous fight to keep his mental balance and regain a sense of identity amid the stress and ...

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZETHE SECOND NOVEL IN 'ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED LITERARY SERIES IN RECENT TIMES' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)'A novel of remarkable power and grace . . . astounding'The Times'Deeply humane and acutely truthful'Sunday Times'Full of a simple poetry . . . a true portrayal of the rhythms of everyday working-class life'

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 ha...