Secondary English

Ian Rankin Investigates: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Writer Ian Rankin investigates The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, tracing Robert Louis Stevenson's story back to event...

Charles Dickens and the Invention of Christmas

Griff Rhys Jones reveals how Dickens created the idea of a traditional family Christmas through one of his best-known books, A...

Pride and Prejudice Revisited

Documentary exploring the enduring appeal of Jane Austen's classic mixture of romance, wit and scathing social satire.

The Secret Life of Books | Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein manuscripts, Alice Roberts finds someone concerned with the act of creation itself and evidence of hus...

The Secret Life of Books | Jane Eyre

Journalist Bidisha revisits Charlotte Bronte's classic novel after first reading it as a teenager.

The Secret Life of Books | Great Expectations

Tony Jordan brings his writer's insight to Charles Dickens's Great Expectations.

Marriage and money in 'Sense and Sensibility' | A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley explains how marriage and money drives the plot of Jane Austen's 'Sense...

Age and autobiography in 'Persuasion' | A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley discusses Jane Austen's final novel 'Persuasion'.

Jane Austen | Novels That Shaped Our World

A discussion of Jane Austen's style of novel writing.

Northanger Abbey | Novels That Shaped Our World

An introduction to Jane Austen's first novel Northanger Abbey, and how it played with Gothic tropes.

The research behind Count Dracula | In Search of Dracula with Mark Gatiss

Mark Gatiss explores the origins and research of Bram Stoker as he created Count Dracula.

An Inspector Calls (2015)

The mysterious 'Inspector Goole' interrupts a wealthy family's family party to tell them a young woman died of suicide that night.

An Inspector Calls' - historical context (pt 2/3) | In Context

A discussion of the historical context and influences behind J B Priestley's 'An Inspector Calls'.

Animal Farm' and the Russian Revolution | English File

An exploration of the historical context of the Russian Revolution and how it influenced George Orwell's 'Animal Farm'.

'Animal Farm' historical context | In Context

A discussion of the historical context of George Orwell's 'Animal Farm', including the influence of the British attitude to Sta...

Blood Brothers | The Story of Musicals

An introduction to Willy Russell's play 'Blood Brothers' and it's first productions.

'Journey's End' - Life in the trenches | In Context

An exploration of life in the trenches through R. C. Sherriff's writing in his diary entries and in 'Journey's End'.

The importance of war literature | In Context

A discussion of the importance of truthful accounts of the experiences of soldiers in the first world war.

Lord of the Flies (1963)

Compelling film adaptation of William Golding's disturbing tale of a group of stranded schoolchildren who revert to primitive savagery following a p...

Civilisation and savagery | Arena

Exploring the themes of civilisation and savagery in 'Lord of the Flies'.

Of Mice and Men' - John Steinbeck | In Context

An introduction to John Steinbeck and the setting in which he wrote 'Of Mice and Men'.

Labourers | John Steinbeck: Voice of America

Melvyn Bragg discusses John Steinbeck's fascination with American labourers, which becomes central to 'Of Mice and Men'.

The Great Gatsby | Novels That Shaped Our World

A class analysis of Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby'.

John Agard's poem Half-caste | English File

John Agard discusses and reads his poem 'Half-caste'.

William Blake's 'London' | Poetry: Between the Lines

Akala presents a reading and discussion of 'London' from Blake's Songs of Experience.

Benjamin Zephaniah | My Life in Verse

Benjamin Zephaniah talks about racism in Britain and his journey to becoming a poet.

Seamus Heaney's early poetry | Great Poets in Their Own Words

An exploration of Seamus Heaney's early poetry.

Robert Browning's 'The Laboratory' | The Power of Poetry

A contemporary dramatisation of Browning's poem, with the poisoning set in a nightclub.

Heaney on learning to love poetry | Seamus Heaney: Out of the Marvellous

Heaney reads sections from his poems and talks about developing a love for poetry.

Wordsworth and the Lake District | A Poet's Guide to Britain

An introduction to Wordsworth's life and his love for the Lake District.

Malorie Blackman reading 'The British' by Benjamin Zephaniah | My Life in Verse

Malorie Blackman talks about why she loves Benjamin Zephaniah's poem 'The British'.

i carry your heart with me' by E. E. Cummings | My Life in Verse

Robert Webb discusses the poem that was read at his wedding, 'i carry your heart with me' by E. E. Cummings.

The Canterbury Tales' | The Beauty of Books

An exploration of the audience, characters and intentions of 'The Canterbury Tales'.

Ian Rankin Investigates: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Writer Ian Rankin investigates The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, tracing Robert Louis Stevenson's story back to event...

Inside the Mind of Robert Burns

Writer Alan Bissett explores the complex brain of Robert Burns - a poetic genius with contradictory attitudes to women, politics and slavery.

Andrew Marr's Great Scots: The Writers Who Shaped a Nation | 3: Hugh Macdiarmid

Andrew Marr looks into the life of poet Hugh MacDiarmid, who reinvented Scots as a language f...

Beyond Burns

Scots Makar Jackie Kay looks at the lives of some of the extraordinary, and often overlooked, poets that Scotland has produced and how they have told, and conti...

6: Robert Burns | Great Britons (1990)

The fourth documentary in a series on Robert Burns, narrated by David Daiches.

In Search of Sir Walter Scott

To mark the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's birth, author Damian Barr goes in search of the legacy of one of Scotland's great historica...

A Poet's Guide to Britain | 3: George Mackay Brown

Owen Sheers explores poetry set in the British landscape. He looks at George Mackay Brown's Hamnavoe and visits his home t...

In The Dark | Domestic Magic

Family secrets and a murderous being emerge from the shadowy places of a couple’s new home, proving that just because you inherit something does...

Intermediate English: Poetry

Students get a chance to question, interpret and evaluate poems by Carol Ann Duffy and Liz Lochhead.

Episode 1 | Blethering Scots

Ten well-known personalities share their favourite Scots word and celebrate the warmth, wit and grit of the Scots language. Written by Sanjeev K...

Episode 2 | Blethering Scots

Ten more well-known Scottish personalities share their favourite Scots words. Comedian Susan Calman is a wee 'besom', while Elaine C Smith has s...

Rebel Tongue

Alistair Heather sets out on a mission to reclaim the Scots language. For years, Scotland’s ancient tongue was ignored or mocked. Now, one and a half million pe...

1: The Golden Age | The Mother Tongue

First of 3 documentaries tracing the history of the Scots tongue from its origins through to its heyday as the language of court, lite...

2: A Very Corrupt Dialect | The Mother Tongue

Billy KAY examines the roots of prejudice against Lowland Scots from the 1700s onwards in interviews with academics and native ...

3: Pan Loaf and Patter | The Mother Tongue

The final programme in the series in which Billy KAY traces the development of the Scots language.

Class in Oliver Twist | Novels That Shaped Our World

An exploration of how Charles Dickens wove the stories of people from different class backgrounds into his novels.

The Gothic novel | Novels That Shaped Our World

Why was the gothic novel such a popular form for female authors?

Literature and women | Novels That Shaped Our World

An introduction to literature written by women.

Literature and class | Novels That Shaped Our World

An introduction to analysing literature through theories of class difference.

Literature and Empire | Novels That Shaped Our World

An introduction to analysing literature through theories of race and colonialism.

Contemporary working class authors | Novels That Shaped Our World

A discussion of the pressures for working class authors to write about their own experiences.

James Berry and black British poetry | My Life in Verse

James Berry discusses his poem 'To Travel This Ship' from the book 'Windrush Songs'.

Elizabeth Gaskell | Novels That Shaped Our World

An exploration of how Mary Gaskell explored class difference in her novel Mary Barton.

African Literature | Africa Turns the Page: The Novels That Shaped a Continent

An introduction to the rich history of literature by black African authors.

Virginia Woolf and feminism | Icons

Lily Cole discusses 'A Room of One's Own' and the importance of Virginia Woolf's writing to feminism.

Queenie | Novels That Shaped Our World

A discussion of women and race in Candice Carty-Williams's novel 'Queenie'. <br><br><i>Contains strong language and adult themes o...

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe | Black and British: A Forgotten History

In part three of this groundbreaking series, historian David Olusoga explores the Victoria...