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The Secret Life of Books

The Secret Life of Books

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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.

Man in a suit with an unbuttoned collar furrows his brow and leans against a limewashed brick wall. Caption. Some say that Dickens let himself and the book down.
The Secret Life of Books
Season 0 / Ep 3
29 minutes 19 seconds
Grade Level: 9 - 12
Closeup of a smiling woman in a darkened space. A light glows behind her. Caption. It grabs me as a human, it grabs me as an anatomist.
The Secret Life of Books
Season 2 / Ep 1
29 minutes 18 seconds
Grade Level: 7 - 12
Sepia toned profile photo of Virginia Woolf with a low bun in her hair. Caption. Between this quiet stretch of Sussex and a home in London.
The Secret Life of Books
Season 2 / Ep 2
29 minutes 18 seconds
Grade Level: 9 - 12
Man with white beard peers at camera. Large statue and trees stand in the background. Caption. It's thanks to a particular text.
The Secret Life of Books
Season 2 / Ep 4
29 minutes 20 seconds
Grade Level: 9 - 12