Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.23. 10 July 2015.

Walking Through History.
Channel 4: Sat 11 July 2015, 19.00 – 20.00. Rpt of Series 3 (2014).
Tony Robinson walks through West Yorkshire moorland – the backdrop to both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights; a four day hike to discover how these moors inspired England’s greatest literary family and two of the finest novels ever written. Details & walking guide / map:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/walking-through-history/articles/all/bronte-country-west-yorkshire

The Stuarts: 2 /4. Queen Anne: Myself Alone
BBC Radio 4: Sat 11 July 2015, 21.00 – 22.00.
Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch, must abandon long-held and cherished allegiances if she is to command the loyalty of rebellious Whigs and Tories and rule with authority: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b060yk4y

The King’s Muse
BBC Radio 4: Sat 11 July 2015, 23.30 – 00.00.
In The King’s Muse, Peggy Reynolds explores the world of the Tudor court, through the poetry of Henry VIII. Held at the British Library is a songbook that includes poetry and compositions by this Tudor monarch. Historian David Starkey joins Peggy Reynolds to put these poems into context, lifting the lid on this cultured youthful King, long overshadowed by the machinations of the older tyrant he was to become.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b060yk52

The Stuarts: 3 /4. This War Without an Enemy
BBC Radio 4: Sun 12 June 2015, 15.00 – 16.00. Rpt Sat 18 July 21.00 – 22.00.
Drama by Mike Walker. Charles I’s best qualities come to the fore only in defeat, when there are no more decisions to take but only courage and calm to see him through. Only in this moment of perfect stillness can he begin to understand what has brought him here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036tqpv

Words and Music: the Low Countries.
BBC Radio 3: Sun 12 June 2015, 17.30 – 17.45.
Maxine Peake and Samuel West embark on a journey through dream and nightmare in the Low Countries. Treading the shifting boundary between land and sea, between memory and experience they navigate a course through a landscape which accommodates Erasmus as well as Louis Aragon, Louis Andriessen as well as Cesar Franck: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bfjqs

Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners
BBC2: Wed 15 July 2015, 21.00 – 22.00. 1 /2: Profit and Loss.
In an exclusive partnership with University College London, historian David Olusoga uncovers Britain’s forgotten slave owners. Forensically examining the compensation records, he discovers the range of people who owned slaves and the scale of the slavery business. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b062nqpd

Queen Victoria’s Letters: a Monarch Unveiled.
BBC4: Thu 16 July 2015, 21.00 – 22.00. 1 /2 (Rpt of 2015 broadcast)
Examining the first half of Queen Victoria’s life, biographer AN Wilson goes in search of a monarch too often misunderstood as the solid black-clad matron and reveals a woman who was passionately romantic and who spent her years as a child and young queen fighting the control of domineering men.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04p1vx1

Free Thinking: Heroism v Failure
BBC Radio 3: Thu 16 June 2015, 22.00 – 22.45.
Should we spend more time studying the failures of history, and less time on the heroes? David Starkey, Amanda Foreman and Saul David join Anne McElvoy for a debate recorded in front of an audience at the Chalke Valley History Festival. Saul David is the author of Operation Thunderbolt. It looks at the Entebbe Raid which took place on 4th July 1976. David Starkey has written Magna Carta – a book exploring the history and relevance of the document drafted 800 years ago. Amanda Foreman is the author of A World on Fire: The Epic History of the British in the American Civil War and will be presenting a BBC TV series exploring women’s history from the Paleolithic to modern Britain. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b061glf7