Season 1
4 episodes · Feb 7, 2011
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- S1E1
Ancient Bibles
Feb 7, 201130mThe 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.
- S1E2
Medieval Masterpieces
Feb 14, 201130mThe 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.
- S1E3
Illustrated Wonderlands
Feb 21, 201130mThe 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.
- S1E4
Paperback Writer
Feb 28, 201130mThe 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.