Literature

As the legendary Italian poet Dante turns 750, what can he tell us about the human experience? Dante scholar John Took takes us through his timeless angst and joy ridden ponderings on love, despair and existence.

Open a 500-year-old manuscript and discover the place where faith and devotion meet art and inspiration. The prayer-book of Medingen in Oxford is a luminous example of female creativity, providing insight into the immense cultural productivity of medieval nuns living ...

Acclaimed writer Henry James spent his life filling countless notebooks with ideas for stories he never wrote. Professor Philip Horne’s journey into James’ most peculiar inklings led him to bring these stories to life.

Is William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon the real author of the Shakespearean plays? The so-called anti-Stratfordians think not. The Shakespeare scholar René Weis disagrees and presents three pieces of evidence against conspiracy theories.

In this podcast, Dickens expert John Mullan takes us on a journey through this great writer's mind, touching on his relationship to London, dreams, Bedlam, and more.

Whilst the gap year has come to enjoy increasing popularity in recent years, it is no new phenomenon. Throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the young elite of England and France undertook travels to and from the European continent, ...