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Biographies
- Isabella
of France
Edward II’s queen who betrayed him with Mortimer and ruled in his
stead.
- Ivarr the Boneless
What is left today that recalls the times of this fascinating warrior
Viking chief.
- James
VI and I
Elizabeth I’s Scottish successor who survived the Gunpowder Plot.
- Humphrey
Jennings
Much-admired film director who was a vital part of the British documentary
movement.
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muslim leader who pressed for partition but died just after Pakistani
independence.
- King
John
Thirteenth-century king who acquired a villainous reputation because of
his scheming, and was forced to sign Magna Carta.
- Amy
Johnson
Aviation pioneer, celebrity who sought anonymity and record-breaker who
longed for a steady piloting job.
- Karl
I
Last Austro-Hungarian emperor who presided over his empire’s defeat
in World War I.
- Helen
Keller
The legendary blind/deaf campaigner who became a political radical and
wrote books inspired by a Christian mystic.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
The US president whose assassination led to claims of high-level conspiracy.
- Ayatollah Khomeini
Muslim religious leader who established a fundamentalist Islamic government
in Iran.
- Martin Luther King
The African-American civil rights leader who was murdered by an assassin’s
bullet.
- Cosmo Gordon Lang
The archbishop who befriended the royal family and may have plotted against Edward VIII.
- Philip
Larkin
The poet’s bleak mindset and oppressive ever-present awareness of
death.
- Lenin
The father of Russia’s Bolshevik revolution.
- Lennon
& McCartney
A short history of the two pop composers during their careers with The
Beatles.
- Alun
Lewis
The Welsh poet, whose work during World War II vividly describes the lot
of the soldier and the outsider.
- David Lloyd George
British prime minister from 1916 to 1922 – the first to
come from a humble background – Lloyd George was also a great reformer
and a womaniser.
- David Lloyd George
Britain’s only Welsh prime minister.
- Lord
Lucan
The disappearance of Lord Lucan in 1974 ignited one of the
most compelling mysteries in modern criminal history – a peculiarly
British affair, involving the dying traditions of aristocracy and honour.
- Erich
Ludendorff
Leading German general during World War I.
- Malcolm X
African-American leader who turned from separatism to the brotherhood
of Islam.
- Nelson Mandela
The black activist who, after 26 years’ imprisonment, became president
of South Africa.
- Mao Zedong
Communist dictator whose rule – and whims – led to disaster
for the Chinese.
- Ferdinand Marcos
Filipino president whose corruption finally led to his downfall.
- Margaret
of Anjou
Warrior queen to the hapless Henry VI, portrayed by Shakespeare as cruel
and bloodthirsty.
- Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden
Queen Victoria's granddaughter who died before she could become queen herself.
- Queen Marie of Romania
Granddaughter of Queen Victoria, she was a sought-after princess who took lovers and became a Baha'i.
- Mary
I
Henry VIII’s daughter who burned Protestants and failed to produce
an heir.
- Jasper
Maskelyne
A star magician whose sleight-of-hand came in useful during the World
War II campaign to defeat Rommel in north Africa.
- Queen
Matilda
The 12th-century queen who lost her throne but established the Plantagenets.
- Queen Maud of Norway
Youngest daughter of Edward VII who married a Danish prince only to become queen of Norway.
- The Medici
The Florentine bankers who led a city-state, occupied the Vatican and
inspired some of the greatest artists and thinkers of the Renaissance.
- Robert Menzies
Australia’s longest-serving prime minister.
- King
Midas
The legend of King Midas, likely to have been the 8th-century BC Phrygian
king Mita.
- François Mitterand
The socialist French president from 1981 to 1995.
- Simon
de Montfort
The 13th-century baron who became de facto ruler of England.
- Thomas
More
The lawyer who, at the hands of Henry VIII, became a martyr and saint.
- Philip Mountbatten
The Danish/Greek prince who captured a future queen's heart.
- Benito Mussolini
Italian dictator who was executed by Italian partisans.
- Benito
Mussolini
Remembered as a fascist dictator whose ludicrous posing was dwarfed by
Adolf Hitler, he was a much more complex character.
- Napoleon
Bonaparte
Military genius and passionate lover, revolutionary and emperor, glorious
leader or little dictator?
- Napoleon Bonaparte
The Corsican upstart who became emperor of France and conqueror of much
of Europe.
- Gamal Abdel Nasser
Egyptian leader whose nationalising of the Suez Canal led to an abortive
invasion by Western powers.
- Pandit Nehru
Independent India’s first prime minister, who established a political
dynasty.
- Lord Nelson
Regarded by many as Britain's most brilliant naval commander.
- Nicholas II
Tragic Russian tsar who influenced his own terrible fate.
- Richard Nixon
Conservative US president who presided over the end of the Vietnam War
and resigned in disgrace.
- Kwame Nkrumah
The first black African to lead his country – Ghana – to independence.
- Julius Nyerere
Tanzania’s first president who favoured of government that reflected
African society.
- King
Offa
The king of Mercia who built a dyke, minted a silver penny and was referred
to as ‘king of the English’.
- Vittorio
Orlando
Italy’s representative at the Paris Peace Conference.
- Camilla Parker Bowles
Prince Charles' long-time mistress and second wife.
- Katherine
Parr
Henry VIII's sixth, and last, wife.
- Evita Perón
Ex-actress wife of the Argentinian dictator, who built up a popular following
and died young.
- Henri-Philippe
Pétain
World War I general who became infamous as France’s collaborationist
premier.
- Prince Philip
The man who always has to walk two steps behind the queen.
- Prince Philip
The Danish/Greek prince who captured a future queen's heart.
- Philip
of Spain
English aspects of the life of the Holy Roman emperor who married Mary
I.
- William Pitt the Younger
Britain's youngest-ever prime minister who saw the country through the
crisis of the French Revolution.
- Pol Pot
Cambodian dictator responsible for the deaths of at least one million
people.
- Marco Polo
The 13th-century Venetian traveller who acted as Kublai Khan’s
emissary – or did he?
- Cole
Porter
The great American composer/lyricist.
- Qin Shi Huang
China’s first emperor, who built the Great Wall and the Terracotta
Army.
