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Great Lives Episodes

  1. Lyndon Johnson

    Veteran journalist Charles Wheeler chooses the USA's 36th president.

  2. Antonia Quirke on Marlon Brando

    Marlon Brando - greatest actor of the twentieth century?

  3. Nelson

    Explorer Benedict Allen chooses Horatio Nelson.

  4. Wendy Cope on John Clare

    Matthew Parris talks to Wendy Cope about her poetic hero John Clare. From 2015.

  5. Tom Paine

    Writer and political activist George Monbiot chooses 18th-century revolutionary Tom Paine.

  6. Dame Helen Ghosh on James Lees-Milne

    Matthew Parris talks to the National Trust's Dame Helen Ghosh about James Lees-Milne.

  7. Tchaikovsky

    Economist Ruth Lea chooses the great Russian composer. Stephen Johnson adds his expertise.

  8. Kulvinder Ghir on Zoran Music

    Comedian and actor Kulvinder Ghir nominates the life of the artist Zoran Music.

  9. Mary Kingsley

    Journalist Ann Leslie chooses the pioneering writer and explorer Mary Kingsley.

  10. Rachel Johnson on Ottoline Morrell

    Rachel Johnson author and journalist champions the life of Ottoline Morrell.

  11. Sir Trevor McDonald on Learie Constantine

    The veteran broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald chooses the life of Learie Constantine

  12. Charles Dickens

    Satirist and writer Armando Iannucci chooses novelist Charles Dickens.

  13. Tommy Cooper

    Writer and broadcaster Clement Freud chooses comedian Tommy Cooper.

  14. Flora Sandes

    Kate Adie discusses Britain's first commissioned female officer in World War One.

  15. Bernardo O'Higgins

    Writer Brian Keenan chooses Bernardo O'Higgins, who liberated Chile in the 19th century.

  16. Sarah Bernhardt

    Comedienne Jenny Eclair chooses one of the first acting superstars, Sarah Bernhardt.

  17. David Lloyd George

    Athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson chooses her Welsh compatriot, politician David Lloyd George.

  18. Mervyn King on Risto Ryti

    Mervyn King champions the life of the former Prime Minister of Finland Risto Ryti.

  19. The Man in the Iron Mask

    Military historian Richard Holmes nominates the mysterious Man in the Iron Mask.

  20. Eve Pollard on Nora Ephron

    Journalist Eve Pollard explores Hollywood screenwriter Nora Ephron with Matthew Parris.

  21. GK Chesterton

    Richard Ingrams nominates author and journalist GK Chesterton for regularly being right.

  22. Michael Dobbs on Guy Burgess

    Michael Dobbs looks back at the life of Cambridge spy Guy Burgess.

  23. James Hogg

    Geneticist Steve Jones chooses 19th-century fiddle-playing shepherd and writer James Hogg.

  24. Philippa Langley on Richard III

    Matthew Parris talks to Philippa Langley about the life of Richard III.

  25. Bob Marley

    Poet Benjamin Zephaniah explores the life of reggae legend Bob Marley.

  26. Tom Solomon on Roald Dahl

    Professor Tom Solomon talks about his former patient, writer Roald Dahl.

  27. Rachmaninov

    Conductor Leonard Slatkin proposes composer Sergei Rachmaninov for great life status.

  28. Brian Eno on Lord Young of Dartington

    Brian Eno champions the life and work of social reformer Michael Young.

  29. Scott of the Antarctic

    Author Beryl Bainbridge selects explorer Robert Falcon Scott as a hidden romantic.

  30. Laura Bates on Louisa May Alcott

    Laura Bates tells Matthew Parris why Louisa May Alcott of "Little Women" is her Great Life

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