Series combining human stories, expert interviews, book illustrations and historic archive to reveal the beauty of books.
Richard Dormer
Narrator
Stephen Bayley
Himself - Author & Design Critic
Rick Gekoski
Himself - Writer & Rare Book Dealer
Michelle Brown
Herself - University of London
Christopher de Hamel
Himself - Corpus Christi College Cambridge
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Alison Bailey
Herself - Curator British Library
Andrew Biswell
Himself - Burgess Biographer
Alixe Bovey
Herself - University of Kent
Michael Foreman
Himself - Illustrator
John Gray
Himself - Designer
Carolyne Larrington
Herself - St. John's College Oxford
Patricia Lovett
Herself - Scribe & Illustrator
Edward Maggs
Himself - Rare Book Dealer
John McConnell
Himself - Designer
Scot McKendrick
Himself - British Library
Paul W. Nash
Himself - Bodleian Library Oxford
David Parker
Himself - University of Birmingham
Sebastian Peake
Himself
David Pearson
Himself - Designer
David Pelham
Himself - Designer
Wesley Rykalski
Himself - Historical Researcher
Janet Soskice
Herself - University of Cambridge
D.J. Taylor
Himself - Orwell Biographer
John Vernon
Himself
1 season available
The British Library in London is home to 14 million books, on shelves that stretch over 600km. Extraordinary vessels of ideas and knowledge, they testify to the love affair we have with books. This series explores the enduring appeal and importance of books from a 4th century bible to present day paperbacks.
The medieval era was the heyday of illuminated manuscripts. In the 14th and 15th centuries, there was a flowering of religious texts set into beautifully-decorated pages. Among these devotional books were psalters, or books of psalms. Hundreds of these were produced, but the Luttrell Psalter is remarkable for its whimsical, humorous and vivid pictures of rural life and a demonic world that is terrifying and grotesque.
The Victorians were masters of illustrated books, especially for children. Thanks to an emerging middle class readership, new printing technology and a sentimentalised regard for childhood, fairy tales and fantasy fiction containing words and pictures grew into an established genre.
The paperback book democratized reading in the 20th century, and printing directly onto the covers became a way of selling a book in the mass market.
