This Sceptred Isle: Collection 1: 55bc - 1702: The Classic BBC Radio History

Christopher Lee (1941-2021) was a British writer, historian and broadcaster, best known for writing the BBC radio documentary series This Sceptred Isle.Lee's career began when, in his twenties, he re-started his education, reading history at London University, after previously being expelled from school and running away to sea in an old tramp steamer. He later joined the BBC as a defence and foreign affairs correspondent and was posted to Moscow and the Middle East. Leaving his career in journalism for academia, Lee was the first Quatercentenary Fellow in Contemporary History and Gomes Lecturer at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He went on to research the history of ideas at Birkbeck College, University of London. Lee is the originator and writer of the BBC Radio 4 trilogy This Sceptred Isle, which recounts the history of Britain and the British Empire from the Romans to the 20th century. His recent books include the three accompanying volumes of This Sceptred Isle, the autobiographic Eight Bells and Top Masts, which tells the story of his time as a deck boy and his circumnavigation of the globe, his The Bath Detective thriller trilogy, Monarchy, Past, present... and future? and Viceroys: The Creation of the British, illustrated by his wife.He is also the writer of more than 100 Radio 4 plays and series including The House, starring Timothy West, Julian Glover and Isla Blair, Colvil & Soames, starring Christopher Benjamin and Amanda Redman, Our Brave Boys, starring Martin Jarvis and Fiona Shaw, and the Los Angeles production of his The Trial of Walter Raleigh, which Rosalind Ayres produced with Michael York in the title role. His play A Pattern in Shrouds was broadcast on Radio 4 in the summer of 2009 and deals with the consequences of the assassination of the Queen's uncle, Lord Mountbatten in 1979. In 2013 the BBC also ran his play Air Force One, which questioned the events during the 90 minutes between the assassination of President Kennedy and swearing in of Lyndon B Johnson aboard the presidential plane.

The first five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original first five volumes: 55BC-1087: Julius Caesar to William the Conqueror From Britannia under the Romans to the Dark Ages and the invasions of Angles, Saxons, Danes, and Norwegians.1087-1327: The Making of the Nation The Crusades, Welsh and Scottish rebellions and the foundations of the modern state - including Magna Carta and the fledgling English Parliament. 1327-1547 The Black Prince to Henry VIII The Hundred Years' War, the Peasants' Revolt, the Wars of the Roses and the reign of Henry VIII. 1547-1660 Elizabeth I to Cromwell Elizabeth I's long reign; the Civil War, the execution of Charles I and the establishment of Cromwell as Lord Protector. 1660-1702 Restoration and Glorious Revolution The return of Charles II, the Great Plague and Great Fire of London, and a ruler from a different country on the throne: William of Orange. Narrated by Anna Massey, with extracts from Sir Winston Churchill's A History of the English-speaking Peoples read by Paul Eddington and Peter Jeffrey, this is the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. CD 1 includes a special PDF file featuring the original booklets from each volume. Duration: 15 hours approx.