books in order

Melvyn Bragg Books In Order

Cumbrian Trilogy Books In Order

  1. The Hired Man (1969)
  2. A Place in England (1970)
  3. Kingdom Come (1980)

Soldier’s Return Books In Order

  1. The Soldier’s Return (1999)
  2. A Son of War (2001)
  3. Crossing the Lines (2003)

Novels

  1. For Want of a Nail (1965)
  2. The Second Inheritance (1966)
  3. Without a City Wall (1970)
  4. The Nerve (1971)
  5. Josh Lawton (1972)
  6. Silken Net (1974)
  7. A Christmas Child (1976)
  8. Autumn Manoeuvres (1978)
  9. Love and Glory (1983)
  10. The Maid of Buttermere (1987)
  11. A Time to Dance (1990)
  12. Crystal Rooms (1992)
  13. Credo (1996)
  14. Remember Me… (2008)
  15. Grace and Mary (2013)
  16. Now is the Time (2015)
  17. Love Without End (2019)

Non fiction

  1. Speak for England (1976)
  2. Thomas Hardy (1982)
  3. Land of the Lakes (1983)
  4. Laurence Olivier (1984)
  5. Rich (1988)
  6. Seventh Seal (1993)
  7. On Giants’ Shoulders (1998)
  8. King Lear in New York (1999)
  9. Voices of the Powerless: Vol 1 (2003)
  10. Voices of the Powerless: Vol 2 (2003)
  11. The Adventure of English (2003)
  12. Twelve Books That Changed the World (2006)
  13. In Our Time (2009)
  14. The South Bank Show: Final Cut (2010)
  15. The Book of Books (2011)
  16. William Tyndale (2017)
  17. A Love Letter to Europe (2019)
  18. Back in the Day (2022)

Cumbrian Trilogy Book Covers

Soldier’s Return Book Covers

Novels Book Covers

Non fiction Book Covers

Melvyn Bragg Books Overview

The Hired Man

A novel set in Cumberland between 1889 and the 1920s and telling the story of one man’s struggle to break free from the status of a ‘hired man’. The first part of the CUMBRIAN TRILOGY.

A Place in England

Joseph Tallantire has hope and ambition like his father before him he is determined to make something of himself and improve his lot. But life is not easy for an uneducated young man in Cumberland before and during World War II, and Joseph’s struggle against the odds is the subject of this moving and evocative novel. Suffering hardship and humiliation but eventually achieving a position of some independence, Joseph serves as a tribute to the many like him who lived through one of Britain’s periods of greatest social change.

Kingdom Come

Douglas Tallentire has at last achieved what his father and grandfather before him fought for so bitterly. Educated and independent, he can carve out his own career and spread his wings. But success, freedom and happiness are more elusive than ever in the fiercely competitive Seventies. From Cumbria to the frenetic whirl of sophisticated life in New York and London, Douglas, like all the Tallentires, must come to terms with private uncertainty and pain.

The Soldier’s Return

‘Unsentimental, truthful and wonderful’ Beryl Bainbridge, Independent Books of the Year When Sam Richardson returns in 1946 from the ‘Forgotten War’ in Burma to Wigton in Cumbria, he finds the town little changed. But the war has changed him, broadening his horizons as well as leaving him with traumatic memories. In addition, his six year old son now barely remembers him, and his wife has gained a sense of independence from her wartime jobs. As all three strive to adjust, the bonds of loyalty and love are stretched to breaking point in this taut, and profoundly moving novel. ‘An outstandingly good novel…
utterly credible, utterly compelling, and very enjoyable’ Allan Massie, Scotsman ‘Deeply felt, beautifully realised’ John Sutherland, Sunday Times ‘The first Great War came alive in Faulks’s Birdsong; the second Great War, and in particular the Burma campaign, comes very much alive in Melvyn Bragg’s The Soldier’s Return wholly absorbing’ John Bayley, Evening Standard ‘Sympathetic, touching, infinitely believable…
This is a highly accomplished novel’ D.J. Taylor, Literary Review

A Son of War

Longlisted for the Booker Prize ‘Deeply humane and acutely truthful’ Peter Kemp, Sunday Times After the upheavals of the Second World War, the Richardson family — Sam, Ellen and their young son Joe — settle back to working-class life in the Cumbrian town of Wigton. Yet for them, as for so many, life will never be the same again. As the old order begins to be challenged and new vistas open, Sam and Ellen forge their future together with differing needs and desires – and conflicting expectations of Joe, who grows up with his own demons to confront. ‘It is as if these were the novels he was always waiting to write!He catches brilliantly the volatility of emotions — how happiness can curdle, anger flare, guilt build into terrror.’ Nicci Gerrard, Observer ‘A novel about being alive, the kind of slice-of-life novel that everyone feels they have inside them but few could write’ Brandon Robshaw, Independent on Sunday ‘This sequel to The Soldier’s Return — widely acclaimed as Melvyn Bragg’s best novel — is every bit as convincing and enjoyable !This seems likely to become not only an outstandingly good series but one of the finest and most authentic records of the changes in English society, life and manners since the Second World War’ Allan Massie, Scotsman ‘Shot through with blazing integrity and authenticity’ Val Hennessy, Daily Mail

Crossing the Lines

The story of Joe from the end of ‘A Son Of War’, aged 16 1955, through to the end of his first year at Oxford 1959, Crossing the Lines between childhood and adulthood as well as crossing from working class small town Wigton to cosmpolitan, rarified Oxford and all that promises for the future. The main thread is his relationship with Rachel, the 15 yr old schoolgirl he starts going out with in secret for fear of her father’s fury and ends up engaged to while at Oxford until she breaks it off, knowing that they are on different paths in life and she belongs in the old, Wigton one. The dramas are the stuff of ordinary, family life, but Joe’s rites of passage through adolescence will resonate with many, as will the example he sets of the new, post war generation the first ‘teenagers’, rock and roll and Teddy Boys.

For Want of a Nail

Melvyn Bragg’s first novel is a story of growing up in Cumberland. He has also written ‘Josh Lawton’, ‘The Second Inheritance’ and ‘The Maid of Buttermere ‘.

A Christmas Child

This is the story of a young couple’s desperate search for accommodation late on Christmas Eve, made the more urgent by the imminent birth of their child. The author has written several novels, including ‘The Maid of Buttermere’ and ‘Rich’ and screenplays for ‘Isadora’ and ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’.

The Maid of Buttermere

Melvyn Bragg’s highly acclaimed bestselling historical novel presents the story behind one of the 19th century’s greatest scandals. Set in the Lake District in the early 19th century, the riveting story of an imposter, bigamist and fortune hunter who came to grief by falling helplessly in love with the famed ‘Maid of Buttermere’. ‘A vivid and erudite tour de force’ Penelope Lively. Melvyn Bragg has written fourteen novels as well as several works of non fiction, including a bestseliing biography of Richard Burton. He is editor and presenter of ‘The South Bank Show’. His birthplace is Wigton, Cumbria. His whereabouts are: London and Cumbria. His previous books include: ‘Autumn Manoeuvres’, ‘Crystal Rooms’, ‘For Want Of A Nail’, ‘Josh Lawton’, ‘A Time To Dance’, ‘The Nerve’, ‘The Second Inheritance’, ‘The Silken Net’, ‘Without A City Wall’, ‘The Hired Man’, ‘A Place In England And Kingdom Come’ All Sceptre; and ‘The Promotion.’

A Time to Dance

A novel which recounts the passion of a retired bank manager and his love for an 18 year old solicitor’s secretary. They meet when she wins an essay competition of which he is the judge, and the novel is in the form of a letter to her. The author’s previous book include ‘The Maid of Buttermere’.

Credo

Melvyn Bragg’s acclaimed epic novel is set at the tumultuous dawn of Christianity in Britain and Ireland. It is a stunning story of adventure and spirituality, war and romance, but it is deeply rooted in Bragg’s historical studies of the Dark Ages, and it throws into question our modern day conceptions of faith, hope, and true love. Two people destined to be lovers sacrifice themselves for what they believe to be a greater destiny. For the warrior Padric, a charismatic British prince, it is the salvation of his people and homeland from warring Northumbrian overlords; for Bega, a bewitching Irish princess, it is carrying out her self imposed commitment to spread the word of God. She, bearing a fragment of the true cross, is gifted with miraculous powers; he is a swordsman without peer. Their disparate missions send them apart as they travel throughout the frigid wilderness of a primitive England beset by terror and villainy. Faith is pitched against doubt, spiritual fulfillment against physical desire, romantic ideals against political expediency and pragmatism against theory. The Sword and the Miracle rose quickly to the top of the British bestseller lists, heralded by critics as an absorbing, wonderfully evocative work, several cuts above contemporary attempts at historical fiction. The reader will find an exciting narrative informed by insight, knowledge and understanding.

Remember Me…

A passionate but ultimately tragic love affair starts when two students one French, one English meet at university at the beginning of the sixties. From its tentative, unpromising early stages, the relationship develops into a life changing one, whose profound impact continues to reverberate forty years later. Remember Me…
takes one of the oldest stories in the world and gives it renewed, visceral force. Here are characters who spring from the page, brought to vivid life with exceptional empathy and insight into the workings of the heart and mind. And here, captured in intimate, telling detail, are the emotions that bind two people together, and the subtle shifts in thought and feeling that can prise them apart. This is a novel of great emotional intensity, which leaves an unforgettable impression.

Rich

This is the first biography of the actor, Richard Burton, to be supported by his own 300,000 word unpublished journals that cover the years of his marriage to Elizabeth Taylor, plus all his papers and unpublished memoirs of his adopted father. Many of those close to Burton have talked for the first time, including his daughter Kate, his elder sister Cis, who brought him up as her own after the death of his mother when he was two years old and the teacher Philip Burton who adopted him and gave him his name. Bragg has also had the benefit of conversations with actors and close friends, including Sir John Gielgud, Sir Michael Hordern, Lauren Bacall, Robert Hardy, John Neville, Emlyn Williams, John Le Carre and Alec Guinness. Here, the actor who was born Richard Jenkins, the twelfth child of a South Wales miner, stands revealed as never before, often in his own words. After a scholarship to Oxford, a brilliant career in the theatre, then Hollywood and films like ‘The Robe’, his career blossomed with ‘Camelot’ and ‘Cleopatra’ after which he married co star Elizabeth Taylor. Further films intervened, then, in quick succession, he divorced Elizabeth Taylor, married Suzy Hunt and re married Taylor, divorced her and married Sally Burton. In the book he discusses marriage, women, his work, arthritis and addiction to drink, and also shows himself to be a fine descriptive writer and humourist with a love of literature. At the age of 56 he died in his sleep. Melvyn Bragg is the author of 13 novels; his non fiction includes a study of Laurence Olivier, ‘Land of the Lakes’ and ‘Speak for England’.

Seventh Seal

frontis., 25 b&w photos The Seventh Seal is probably the best known work of one of the world’s great filmmakers, the one which most clearly bears Bergman’s unmistakable signature. The opening scene sets the tone: a stoney beach under a leaden sky, the knight alone with his thoughts, then the approach of black clad Death, whom the knight invites to play a game of chess. Bergman’s medieval allegory of faith and doubt is dark with the horrors of witch burning and the plague. But it is also shot through with bright flashes of peace and joy, symbolized in the milk and strawberries offered to the knight by an innocent family of actors. In a finely written appreciation, Melvyn Bragg describes his own first encounter as a student with this extraordinary film, and how it revealed to him another cinema, quite different from the Hollywood with which he had grown up. He also recounts his later meeting with Bergman, and how the marks of his powerful personality are everywhere in this troubling but inspiring masterpiece.

On Giants’ Shoulders

Explore the greatest minds in the history of science with some of the top scientific thinkers of today. Archimedes Galileo Galilei Sir Isaac Newton Antoine Lavoisier Michael Faraday ? Charles Darwin Jules Henri PoincarT Sigmund Freud Marie Curie Albert Einstein Francis Crick James WatsonThe story of science is the greatest adventure of the human mind over the last 2,500 years, as scientists have progressively advanced humankind’s understanding and control of the universe. Yet for many, the scientific theories that underpin the modern world can be hard to grasp. On Giants’ Shoulders elucidates the milestones in the history of science, focusing on twelve individuals and their extraordinary breakthroughs. From a layman’s perspective, acclaimed journalist and author Melvyn Bragg discusses the life, work, and legacy of these remarkable people with leading scientists and historians in each field, including Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, Roger Penrose, Martin Rees, Oliver Sacks, John Gribbin, and Paul Davies. Interviewed by journalist Melvyn Bragg, a selection of scientists discuss twelve of the pioneers of science history and the fascinating personalities behind the discoveries. What makes this book work so well is that Bragg is a fine journalist applying his skills as an outsider to blow away the pretensions and reveal some of the mechanics and motivations of what is still a remarkably closed world. New ScientistEach life is pored over in a brief but brilliant intellectual post mortem with the help of prominent contemporary scientists…
Here are the paranoia, the blind alleys of research, the rivalry, and many collisions of intellectual heavyweights…
On Giants’ Shoulders holds delights for both scientist and layperson. Kevin O’Sullivan, Irish TimesEach chapter has the pace and liveliness of a round table discussion…
In a surprisingly brief space, one can thus taste a flavor of true debate as each contemporary scientist brings in their own angle. Susan Greenfield, Independent on SundayBragg explores the contribution made by great scientists, from Archimedes to Crick and Watson, to the development of our understanding of the world. What makes the result special is Bragg’s unusual relationship to his subject. His gentle probing, and the selection of material, addresses exactly the questions about science and scientists that interest outsiders. John Gribbin, The IndependentRanging from the foundation of hydrostatics in the third century b.c. to the discovery of DNA’s structure in our own time, this is an accessible, thought provoking, and fascinating account of the seminal discoveries of the past and their originators. The book also illuminates the issues with which scientists are wrestling today, poised on their forerunners’ shoulders to carry scientific inquiry into the next millennium. This is an enchanting book, because it is a book produced by a clever man listening intently…
Science is not, in truth, a daunting alien territory. But characteristically it seems to want to tell us the answers dogmatically, before we are sure what questions we would like to ask. On Giants’ Shoulders asks just those kind of questions. Lisa Jardine, The Times LondonNobody in the media has worked harder than Melvyn Bragg to promote science as a culture and scientists as creators. In a sea of indifference to the educational and cultural nature of science, he seems to be the only person with perception. Professor Sir Harry Kroto, The Sunday Times London

Voices of the Powerless: Vol 1

Audio CD, BBC Audiobooks Ltd

Voices of the Powerless: Vol 2

Audio CD, BBC Audiobooks Ltd

The Adventure of English

The ideal tour guide…
both entertaining and informative. BooklistHere is the riveting story of the English language, from its humble beginnings as a regional dialect to its current preeminence as the one global language, spoken by more than two billion people worldwide. In this groundbreaking book, Melvyn Bragg shows how English conquered the world. It is a magnificent adventure, full of jealousy, intrigue, and war against a ho*ard of invaders, all armed with their own conquering languages, which bit by bit, the speakers of English absorbed and made their own. Along the way, its colorful story takes in a host of remarkable people, places, and events: the Norman invasion of England in 1066; the arrival of The Canterbury Tales and a coarse playwright named William Shakespeare, who added 2,000 words to the language; the songs of slaves; the words of Davy Crockett; and the Lewis and Clark expedition, which led to hundreds of new words as the explorers discovered unknown flora and fauna. The Adventure of English is an enthralling story not only of power, religion, and trade, but also of a people and how they changed the world.

Twelve Books That Changed the World

In this digitised age of shared information, it is easy to take for granted the power of the printed word. Here Melvyn Bragg presents a vivid reminder of the book as agent of social, political and personal revolution. In the fascinating book accompanying the ITV series, Melvyn Bragg takes a look at the most important British books in history, and their long lasting effects which can still be felt throughout the world today. Far from being a study of dry texts, ’12 Books That Changed The World’ presents a rich variety of human endeavour and a great diversity of characters. From scientific breakthroughs to seminal human rights treatises; from dramatic works of staggering emotional depth to what were at the time seemingly innocuous documents all these works have shaped the history of Britain and beyond. Definitive, always illuminating and sometimes controversial, the hidden story of these twelve books is a journey through the colourful history of our island and its people.

The Book of Books

The King James Bible has often been called The Book of Books, both in itself and in what it stands for. Since its publication in 1611, it has been the best selling book in the world, and many believe, it has had the greatest impact. The King James Bible has spread the Protestant faith. It has also been the greatest influence on the enrichment of the English language and its literature. It has been the Bible of wars from the British Civil War in the seventeenth century to the American Civil War two centuries later, and it has been carried into battle in innumerable conflicts since then. Its influence on social movements particularly involving women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and politics was profound. It was crucial to the growth of democracy. It was integral to the abolition of slavery, and it defined attitudes to modern science, education, and sex. As Lord Melvyn Bragg’s The Adventure of English explored the history of our language, so The Book of Books reveals the extraordinary and still felt impact of a work created 400 years ago.

Related Authors

Leave a Comment