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The Beauty of Books0

The Beauty of Books

2011 - 2011

Ancient Bibles

7th February 2011
Episode 1
The 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.

Medieval Masterpieces

14th February 2011
Episode 2
The 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.

Illustrated Wonderlands

21st February 2011
Episode 3
The 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.

Paperback Writer

28th February 2011
Episode 4
The 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.
Top Cast
Documentary

Series combining human stories, expert interviews, book illustrations and historic archive to reveal the beauty of books.

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Full Cast
Richard Dormer Image

Richard Dormer

Narrator

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Stephen Bayley

Himself - Author & Design Critic

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Rick Gekoski

Himself - Writer & Rare Book Dealer

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Michelle Brown

Herself - University of London

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Christopher de Hamel

Himself - Corpus Christi College Cambridge

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Alison Bailey

Herself - Curator British Library

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Andrew Biswell

Himself - Burgess Biographer

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Alixe Bovey

Herself - University of Kent

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Michael Foreman

Himself - Illustrator

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John Gray

Himself - Designer

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Carolyne Larrington

Herself - St. John's College Oxford

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Patricia Lovett

Herself - Scribe & Illustrator

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Edward Maggs

Himself - Rare Book Dealer

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John McConnell

Himself - Designer

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Scot McKendrick

Himself - British Library

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Paul W. Nash

Himself - Bodleian Library Oxford

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David Parker

Himself - University of Birmingham

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Sebastian Peake

Himself

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David Pearson

Himself - Designer

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David Pelham

Himself - Designer

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Wesley Rykalski

Himself - Historical Researcher

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Janet Soskice

Herself - University of Cambridge

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D.J. Taylor

Himself - Orwell Biographer

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John Vernon

Himself

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Edward Wakeling

Himself - Editor of Lewis Carroll's Diaries

Full Crew
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Harry Bell

Executive Producer

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James Hayes

Executive Producer

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Brendan Hughes

Executive Producer

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Michael Waterhouse

Producer

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Paul Devlin

Editor

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David Gray

Editor

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Carla McCabe

Production Manager

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Alec Walker

Art Direction

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Ian Maclagan

Sound

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Paul Maynes

Sound Mixer

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Steve Bowden

Sound

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David Keene

Sound

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Andy Tohill

Assistant Editor

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Paul Devlin

Editorial Services

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Raphaelle Boland

Researcher

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Mairead Cullen

Production Coordinator

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Mike Robinson

Director of Photography

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Vaughan Matthews

Director of Photography

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