How do you go about finding your way around the history of a nation and a national identity? For the barrister and author Dominic Selwood, documents are the perfect window through which to watch a country develop and change. His new book Anatomy of a Nation: A History of British Identity in 50 Documents explores more than 950,000 years of history by examining those documents that tell the story of what has made Britain unique.

In this podcast, Matt Lewis talks to Dominic Selwood particularly about the Medieval documents he’s chosen, including the Magna Carta, Joan of Arc’s letter to King Henry VI, and the emergence of the stories of King Arthur.

The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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A History of Britain in 50 Documents