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Bernard Cornwell
Mariella talks to the novelist Bernard Cornwell, whose latest book is a vivid retelling of the events leading up to the battle of Agincourt. He explains how growing up in a bizarre religious cult fostered a love of history, and reveals the surprising discovery he made when he finally met his natural mother late in life.

Teach Yourself… at Seventy
In 1938 a new range of self-improvement books hit the market. The earliest titles included Teach Yourself Embroidery and Teach Yourself to Fly. Seventy years and hundreds of titles later the author of a new history of the series, Trevor Barnes, joins Mariella to look at how it charts the changing priorities of a nation.

On the Beach
Mariella talks to the Australian writer Gideon Haigh about Nevil Shute's masterpiece On the Beach. Published in 1957, it's a chilling portrait of the world a year after a major nuclear war has devastated the planet. Gideon explains what it can tell us, half a century on.