Great Lives

Edward Said was a man, who, in his own words, lived two quite separate lives. First there was the scholar and literary critic of Columbia University, and then there was the fierce critic of American a...

26 Huhti 201228min

The musician and broadcaster Tom Robinson nominates educationalist George Lyward in this episode of Great Lives.Aged 15 and struggling with his sexuality, Tom Robinson attempted to take his own life a...

24 Huhti 201228min

Gertude Stein, American poet, writer and art collector, lived most of her life in France. She was one of the first people to spot the genius of Picasso, Cezanne and Matisse, and she believed she was a...

17 Huhti 201227min

Oscar Wilde, author of The Importance of Being Earnest and The Ballad of Reading Gaol, is proposed by Will Self, a writer once described as a 'high powered satirical weapon'.In 1895, and at the height...

10 Huhti 201228min

Dylan Thomas, arguably Wales's most famous poet, comes under scrutiny on Great Lives. A man famous both for his linguistic exuberance and his chaotic, alcohol-fuelled private life, Thomas is proposed ...

3 Huhti 201228min

Co-chairman of the Conservative party, Baroness Warsi recalls her Pakistani-born father during her Yorkshire childhood telling her about the heroic martial deeds conducted by a thirteenth century Indi...

31 Tammi 201227min

The writer and pacifist Vera Brittain is discussed by her daughter Baroness Shirley Williams and Dr Clare Gerada, Chair of the Royal College of GPs.Vera Brittain's life was shaped by the grief that fo...

24 Tammi 201227min

Matthew Parris is joined by the actress Emma Kennedy to explore the life of the American comedienne Gracie Allen. George Burns and Gracie Allen were a hugely successful stage act who went on to conque...

17 Tammi 201227min