Radical comedian Mark Steel profiles sixteen historical figures who shaped their era

Sony Award-winning satirist and stand-up comedian Mark Steel takes us through the life stories of some of his favourite historical characters in this acclaimed radio series, which ran for three series on BBC Radio 4 before transferring to TV in 2003. From Oliver Cromwell to Ludvig van Beethoven, Mark’s chosen personalities are all passionate, driven – and more than a little eccentric...

Among the inspirational people he profiles are W. G. Grace, one of cricket’s greatest players and the first modern celebrity; Mary Shelley, a radical’s daughter who married a poet and invented science fiction; Che Guevara, who became a left-wing hero despite chronic asthma; and Aristotle, who deserves to be remembered for much more than a line in a Monty Python song.

In addition, he delves into the lives of Renaissance genius (and absent-minded buffoon) Leonardo da Vinci; Carthaginian elephant-wrangler and scourge of the Romans, Hannibal; jazz singer Billie Holiday, whose trademark song ‘Strange Fruit’ was so inflammatory that Columbia refused to record it; and gravity-defining mathematician Isaac Newton, who was obsessed with alchemy and tried to turn lead into gold.

Illustrated with idiosyncratic sketches featuring Melanie Hudson, Martin Hyder, Kim Wall, Carla Mendonça, Femi Elufowoju Junior and Debbie Isitt, these informative, accessible and hugely entertaining lectures celebrate the remarkable men and women whose ideas and enthusiasm changed the world.


Written and performed by Mark Steel
With Melanie Hudson, Martin Hyder, Kim Wall, Carla Mendonça, Femi Elufowoju Junior and Debbie Isitt
Produced by Phil Clarke (Series 1) and Lucy Armitage (Series 2 & 3)
Executive producer: Paul Schlesinger

Contents:

Series 1
Oliver Cromwell
W. G. Grace
Charlie Chaplin
Thomas Paine

Series 2
Lord Byron
Aristotle
Leonardo da Vinci
Che Guevara
Billie Holiday
Karl Marx

Series 3
Ludwig van Beethoven
Hannibal
Isaac Newton
Mary Shelley
Muhammad Ali
Napoleon Bonaparte

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9-30 August 1999 (Series 1), 13 March – 17 April 2001 (Series 2), 18 September – 23 October 2002 (Series 3)