Great Lives

Novelist and screenwriter, Deborah Moggach, nominates the Potteries writer Arnold Bennett, whose work she thinks has been wrongly overlooked, as he was considered as being too popular. Moggach believes that because he was a working writer who earned his living writing both serious and light fiction, he was not taken seriously until after his death in 1931, despite his books being hugely popular during his lifetime. Bennett wrote many novels including ‘Anna of the Five Towns’ and ‘The Old Wives Tale’. As a journalist, Bennett also wrote self-help and lifestyle articles for magazines including 'How to Bathe a Baby Part One' and 'Do Rich Women Quarrel More Frequently Than Poor?' Gyles Brandreth has been a lifelong Bennett fan and believes him to be one of the greatest writers of the 20th century who deserves to be rediscovered. Presenter: Matthew Parris.Producer: Maggie Ayre.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.

Mathematician Marcus de Sautoy champions the blind Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges. He is fascinated by the connection between the creator of 'The Library of Babel' and science - did Borges really understand notions of infinity and space? Biographer Jason Wilson adds colourful detail to the life of a great writer whom he insists was just being impish when it came to the weighty matters that have excited more than one mathematician over the years. The programme includes beautiful recordings of Borges in conversation in 1971. Marcus du Sautoy is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Understanding of Science. Presented by Matthew Parris.Produced by Miles Warde.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2014.

Sir Mark Walport, the government's Chief Scientific Advisor champions the life of Sir Hans Sloane, founder of the British Museum. Along with expert Marjorie Caygill they tell Matthew Parris why they think Sloane is the mother and father of all collectors.Producer : Perminder Khatkar.

Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.Poet Simon Armitage nominates Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, who took his own life in 1980 at the age of 23. Curtis's fellow band member Peter Hook remembers his friend.

"Whenever I have too much to drink, I bang on about Dante ...." Sarah Vine makes a choice from the heart - the great Italian writer Dante Alighieri, father of the Italian language and author of the Divine Comedy. "I'm not an expert," she says, "mine is more of a romantic infatuation." As well as the outspoken Daily Mail columnist, Matthew Parris is joined by Claire Honess, professor of Italian studies at Leeds University. Together they piece together an extraordinary life. Includes extracts from Radio 4's production of the Divine Comedy starring John Hurt Producer: Miles WardeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2014.

Solo percussionist, Evelyn Glennie explains her admiration for cellist, Jacqueline Du Pre.Presented by Matthew Parris.With music writer and broadcaster, Stephen Johnson.Producer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2014.

The DJ Sara Cox nominates Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, a hip hop artist and rapper who performed with the band TLC. She burned her lover's house down and TLC went bankrupt. Lisa died in a car accident aged 30, during a documentary shoot. The expert witness is music journalist Jacqueline Springer and the presenter is Matthew Parris.Assistant Producer: Milly ChowlesProducer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.

Businessman Mark Constantine chooses Lebanese-American author of ‘The Prophet’, Khalil Gibran. With Matthew Parris. Snubbed and practically ignored by the literary establishment in the West, but regarded by millions as a world-class poet his work, The Prophet, published in 1923, has never been out of print and next to the bible is the biggest selling book in America. Businessman Mark Constantine champions the poet and together with the actor Nadim Sawalha. Matthew Parris is the presenter. Producer : Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.

At home in Edinburgh Isabella Bird was the very picture of the ailing Victorian spinster but the moment her tiny feet hit the gangway of a steamer or squeezed into the stirrups of a horse she was transformed. Taking a doctor's advice to travel for the sake of her health Isabella headed for Australia, Japan, Korea and Hawaii before finding her spiritual home amongst the most rotten scoundrels of America's West. In 'Great Lives' the award-winning author of novels including 'How I Live Now' and 'The Bride's Farewell', Meg Rosoff explains why Isabella's transformation has inspired her books and her love of horses. She's joined by David McClay from the National Library of Scotland who maintains an archive of Isabella's colourful correspondence from the farthest flung corners of the Earth.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.

Comedian Dave Allen is chosen by Adil Ray, creator and star of Citizen Khan. He explains to Matthew Parris how the legendary Irish comic helped shape his own career.Producer: Perminder Khatkar.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.