Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
Radio 4's A History of Private Life
- Narrated by: Deborah Findlay, John Sessions, Jasmine Hyde, Jeremy Young, Madeleine Brolly
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
Radio 4's A History of Private Life
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
An engrossing BBC Radio 4 series spanning the history of the home and domestic relationships over the past 500 years, presented by Amanda Vickery.
Professor Amanda Vickery is one of the most charismatic historians in Britain today. In A History of Private Life she reveals the intimate secrets of life at home, from the Tudor mansion to the modern bedsit.
Through letters, diaries and other first-person accounts, we hear the voices of men and women from very different backgrounds telling their stories. Men behaving badly, adulterers on the sofa, servants running amok, bashful bachelors, and glamorous widows - all are revealed in their own words, providing a revealing portrait of how these long-dead people lived day to day and illuminating the problems, pleasures, successes, and catastrophes of domestic life.
Among the actors bringing this history to life are Deborah Findlay, John Sessions, Jasmine Hyde, Jeremy Young, Simon Tcherniak, and Madeleine Brolly. The series also features songs from the 18th and 19th century specially arranged and performed by David Owen Norris, who is accompanied on keyboards by singers Gwyneth Herbert and Thomas Guthrie.
Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Radio 4's A History of Private Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kathcolours33
- 21-03-15
Wish it was longer!
Excellent, easy to listen to book. Wonderful narration, singing and music. I didnt want it end :-)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Dave
- 10-04-11
Bite-sized glimpses into the past
This program is divided into numerous 15-minute episodes that were clearly originally broadcast one-a-day or something, so it has a very bitty feel to it. Each episode has a theme, and all are interesting, although naturally there isn't time for much depth here. The programs are intersperced with period songs and readings from diaries etc, and the whole thing is done with the professionalism you would expect from a BBC production. As a glimpse into domestic life this is brief but quite informative concerning upper and middle class life, but offers almost nothing on the lives of the masses, the poor working the fields or latterly in the growing industrial towns. As a social history then it is anything but comprehensive, but then it was never meant to be, and as an entertaining program with a few surprising nuggets of information I enjoyed this greatly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 25-06-22
Interesting and informative
really enjoyed the narrative story and the themes each episode. struggled with some of the singing though!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- MaryB
- 15-08-10
Brilliant
I loved this book. The view into everyday lives of people whose experiences so closely mirror our own, but who experienced these things many years ago, is fascinating. The music expertly reinforced the mood. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes either social history or the books of Bill Bryson - his stories about ordinary people, their lives and their emotions are similar.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Teresa Cooper
- 07-10-15
Living.
Very well narrated, and well written. I think it could have worked as well if it had been a bit longer. Good history research and use of primary sources.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful