The Secret Life of Books

There are some novels, poems, and works of nonfiction that are so important that they shape culture for years. This series tells the story of key masterpieces, showing just why they are still so vital. Amongst the eclectic mix are a memoir of drug addiction, an epic Elizabethan poem, a collection of nonsense verse, a Victorian classic, a children’s adventure tale, and a nostalgic hymn to rural life. As part of a journey that takes six presenters across the length of the British Isles, each presenter goes back to the original manuscript or rare first edition of their chosen book to unwrap its hidden history and explore why it was of such importance in its time. And why it continues to matter today.