Great Lives

Gardener Carol Klein's great life is a Victorian hero of the wild garden, the writer and horticulturalist William Robinson. Matthew Parris presents, with expert help from Robinson's biographer Richard Bisgrove and reader Stephen Hogan.William Robinson was a radical and persuasive writer and designer whose influence on British gardens has been compared to that of William Morris on interiors. You may not recognise his name but his influence lives on: 'we are all Robinsonians now, even if we don't know it', according to one recent review. Born in 1838 in Ireland, he started young as a garden boy for the Marquess of Waterford. Little more is known about Robinson's early life, but his rise to prominence was swift once he'd arrived in London. Within a few years he'd been elected as a fellow to the Linnaean Society, sponsored by Charles Darwin and James Veitch. He founded, wrote and published his own gardening periodicals and almanacs as well as writing best-selling books on gardening which struck a chord with the newly wealthy English middle classes who were beginning to build their own gardens in the suburbs around London.Carol Klein is the garden expert and star of Gardener's World, who started life as an art teacher. Her gardening hobby became a successful career, with a trugful of gold medals from RHS shows and many best selling books on gardening, as well as her own TV series, most recently 'Life in a Cottage Garden'. She shares Robinson's passion and what she calls his 'empathy' for plants, too, making the best of their individual features, whatever they may be. Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen on the Victorian artist Aubrey Beardsley, whose shocking originality he compares to that of Alexander McQueen. Laurence's first foray into art was copying Beardsley drawings to sell at his school - with the more erotic ones fetching a premium price... Biographer Matthew Sturgis fills in the detail of Beardsley's short but extraordinary life, and Matthew Parris presents. Produce:r Beth O'DeaFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.

Max Mosley, an advocate for personal liberty, discusses John Stuart Mill's beliefs and how they relate to his own experiences with invasion of privacy. They also explore Mill's advocacy for women's and contraceptive rights, his complex relationship with Harriet Taylor, his journey in parliament, and his lasting legacy on liberty and feminism.

What was so notable about Grigori Rasputin ? "The hypnotic power shining in his exceptional gaze," said one observer. The photos are indeed remarkable, and so are the myths. This programme begins with his death. The date is December 1916, and Rasputin, ice encrusted and with a mutilated face, is dragged out of a frozen river in St Petersburg. According to police reports at the time, people ran to the river with armed with jugs and buckets, hoping to scoop up any unfrozen water that had come into contact with this famous man.Comedian Richard Herring chooses Rasputin as much for the mythology as the fact. Was he really the lover of the Russian Queen ? No ... but it is said that his dead body sat up in the fire when it was being burnt. Filling in some of the gaps in this mysterious tale of pre-revolutionary Russia is Bob Service of Oxford University, and an endlessly entertained Matthew Parris presents. Producer: Miles Warde.

Matthew Parris talks to writer, broadcaster and 6Music presenter Stuart Maconie about the life of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The expert witness is Em Marshall-Luck, chairman of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society and founder-director of the English Music Festival.Producer: Christine Hall

Francesca Simon is a writer, journalist and - most famously - the creator of the "Horrid Henry" series of children's booksShe describes herself as "a giddy fan" of the artist, film-maker and poet Jean CocteauShe celebrates his life and work with the help of expert witness Dr Andy Martin of Cambridge UniversityMatthew Parris finds out moreProducer: Christine Hall First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2012.

The date is 1956, Aintree, and Dick Francis is riding the Queen Mother's horse to victory in the Grand National. Except Devon Loch collapses bizarrely to the ground within sight of the finishing post. The jockey later says that he never recovered from this defeat. But the strange case of Devon Loch and the most famous Grand National of them all is the making of Dick Francis, who becomes both a household name and a best selling author too.Martin Broughton, chairman of British Airways, the British Horse Racing Board and - for a while - Liverpool FC, chooses Dick Francis as his example of a man who succeeded in two careers. The Francis novels have sold in millions. Philip Larkin loved the opening lines: "There was a godawful cock up in Bologna," begins The Danger.But there have been question marks over whether the books were all his own work. Mischievous biographer Graham Lord tells Miles Warde why he thinks Dick's wife, Mary, was responsible. "Garbage," says Martin Broughton. Expert opinion comes from Jonathan Powell, racing correspondent of the Mail on Sunday and a man who knew Dick Francis in his later years. The presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer Miles Warde.

Whilst at school, a young Alan Johnson was given some money by a teacher and told to go and buy four copies of any book for the school library.He headed down the Kings Road in Chelsea, stopping only for a sly cigarette along the way. Having already read 'Animal Farm', he picked 'Keep the Aspidistra Flying' and yearned for the life of lead character Gordon Comstock.Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson tells Matthew Parris, why Orwell was crucial to his education and political development. But he's surprised to learn that Orwell is not on the National Curriculum, and insists that Orwell would have hated ID cards. With Jean Seaton, Professor of Media History at the University of Westminster and Chair of the Orwell Prize.Producers: Beatrice Fenton and Toby Field.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2012.

"If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time." Edith Wharton is as well known for her wit as for her novels. Born in 1862, she was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, for The Age of Innocence in 1921. She is nominated by Naomi Wolf, the provocative American commentator and author of The Beauty Myth. Presenter Matthew Parris is also joined in the studio by Janet Beer and Avril Horner.The producer is Jolyon Jenkins.From 2012.

Film director Stephen Frears discusses the life of his mentor, Czech-born director, Karel Reisz, with the help of critic and Reisz's friend, John Lahr. Frears is one of Britain's most successful directors, responsible for "My Beautiful Laundrette", "Dangerous Liaisons", and "Dirty Pretty Things", among many others. Reisz is probably best known for "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", and "The French Lieutenant's Woman". "Karel took me into his life and into his family and he took on the business of turning me into whatever it is I've become," Frears has said. "Without him, I wouldn't have become a film director". Matthew Parris chairs the discussion.