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Philippa Gregory

Michael Berkeley’s guest is the historical novelist Philippa Gregory, whose stories from the Tudor and Plantagenet courts have become bestsellers worldwide.

Philippa Gregory has been called the ‘Queen of Historical Fiction’. The English royal court has inspired many of her best-selling titles, and she’s written sixteen novels about the Plantagenets and Tudors. One of them – The Other Boleyn Girl – became a BBC TV drama and a Hollywood movie starring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman.

This success probably surprised her A level teachers: she says she found history ‘insanely boring’ at school, but her passion was fired at university. She’s also written non-fiction, notably seeking the stories of what she calls ‘normal women’ over 900 years. More recently she’s returned to the Tudors, with a novel called Boleyn Traitor, focussing on the intrigue surrounding Anne’s sister-in-law, Jane.

Her music choices include Mozart, Philip Glass, Scott Joplin and the Mazurka from Coppelia by Leo Delibes.

Producer: Katy Hickman

23 days left to listen

1 hour, 26 minutes

Last on

Last Sunday12:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Léo Delibes

    Delibes: Coppélia - Tableau 1: Prélude - Mazurka

    Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • With Love From Vienna.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 8.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Jesu, Joy of man's desiring (Cantata No 147)

    Ensemble: Bach Collegium Japan. Choir: Bach Collegium Japan Chorus. Conductor: Masaaki Suzuki.
    • Bach Cantatas Vol 12.
    • BIS.
    • 10.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 - II. Andante con moto

    Orchestra: Royal Northern Sinfonia. Conductor: Thomas Zehetmair.
    • Bartok, Casken, Beethoven.
    • ECM New Series.
    • 1.

  • John Kander

    All That Jazz

    Lyricist: Fred Ebb. Music Arranger: Peter Howard. Singer: Chita Rivera. Orchestra: Chicago Orchestra. Choir: Chicago Ensemble. Conductor: Stan Lebowsky.
    • Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville (Original Broadway Cast Recording).
    • Masterworks Broadway.
    • 2.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Soave sia il vento (Così fan tutte)

    Singer: Miah Persson. Singer: Christine Rice. Singer: Bryn Terfel. Orchestra: Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
    • Mozart: Tutto Mozart!: Bryn Terfel/Sir Charles Mackerras.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 3.

  • Nat King Cole

    That's All

    • Nat king Cole 100 Greatest Hits - The Ultimate Collection.
    • AudioSonic Music.
    • 14.

  • Frédéric Chopin

    Nocturne in E flat major, Op 9 No 2

    Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy.
    • Chopin: The Solo Piano Works: Ashkenazy.
    • London.
    • 2.

  • Philip Glass

    Confrontation and Rescue (Satyagraha)

    Choir: New York City Opera Chorus. Orchestra: New York City Opera Orchestra. Conductor: Christopher Keene.
    • Glass: Satyagraha.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 1.

  • Arthur Sullivan

    If you go in, you're sure to win (Iolanthe)

    Lyricist: William Gilbert. Singer: Thomas Round. Singer: Donald Adams. Singer: John Reed. Orchestra: New Symphony Orchestra of London. Conductor: Isidore Godfrey.
    • The World of Gilbert & Sullivan.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 16.

  • Scott Joplin

    Bethena

    Performer: William Albright.
    • Marches, Waltzes & Rags of Scott joplin.
    • MusicMasters.
    • 10.

Broadcast

  • Last Sunday12:00
    BBC Radio 3

Podcast