Award-winning historian Diana Preston returns to highlight her new book, Paradise in Chains: The Bounty Mutiny and the Founding of Australia, published by Bloomsbury. Miss Preston, a good friend of the show, describes in her inimitable way the weaving of personalities (Arthur Phillip, William Bligh, Fletcher Christian, etc.), the quest for empire and scientific knowledge, and the needs of commerce that built to a stunning climax in 1788-89.

More at: Bloomsbury

Ed welcomes Christopher de Hamel, world-renowned authority on medieval manuscripts. Mr. de Hamel will make the art of the illuminated manuscript (pre-printing press) come alive as he describes his latest book, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys into the Medieval World, published by Penguin Books.

Penguin Editions

In celebration of philanthropist Paul Mellon’s centenary, Ed welcomes acclaimed historian, Sir David Cannadine, who will describe his monumental new book, Mellon: An American Life. Father of Paul, Andrew W. Mellon was a fantastically successful industrialist, investor, art collector, and treasury secretary to three presidents, whose vision and colossal drive resulted in the establishment of the National Gallery of Art in 1941. Sir David will also highlight how Mellon’s spirit of philanthropy was assumed by his children, to the cultural enrichment of the nation.