Books That Made Britain - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
Bristol Sin City
Book lover and Radio 1 presenter Gemma Cairney is joined by authors Philippa Gregory and Melvin Burgess to explore how the city of Bristol has inspired their fiction.
Cornish Coast
Chris Packham travels the length of the stunning Cornish coastline to tell the story behind five classic books set there, including Poldark and Daphne Du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek.
East Anglia: The Scene of the Crime
PD James, Nicci French and many other top crime writers have used East Anglia as a setting for their books. Martha Kearney investigates why this unique landscape has caught the imagination of so many authors.
Factories to Middle Earth
Could Birmingham really have been the inspiration for Middle Earth? Qasa Alom sets out to find out.
London: City of Strangers
Suggs delves into his favourite pieces of fiction that tell the story of being a stranger in the capital. From Oliver Twist to Sam Selvon's Lonely Londoner, he explores the novels that have been written through the eyes of newcomers as they make the city their home.
North East England
Chris Donald turns the pages on books that capture the spirit of the north east and asks why so few local writers are championed by London-based publishers.
North West England
Simon O'Brien goes on the trail of some of our best-loved children's authors and discovers the stunning north west landscape that inspired their tales of adventure.
The Yorkshire Coast
John Wedgwood Clarke follows in the footsteps of Bram Stoker, the Brontes and Philip Larkin to see how they were inspired by the Yorkshire coast.
Writers of Rye
Why the Sussex town of Rye inspired authors old and new.
Rebel Writers of the East Midlands
Alice Levine revisits books by working-class rebels - Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole and Sons and Lovers.
South of England
Craig Henderson celebrates the remarkable Sussex landscapes that have inspired generations of writers. With contributions from Kate Mosse and Jane Rusbridge.
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