The latest instalment in this definitive series is The Dynasties. In this series, Christopher Lee turns his attention to some of the most powerful families to have shaped the history of the British Isles during the last thousand years. Revealing the true powers behind the throne, their successes and failures, their loyalties tested and rewarded, honours bestowed and withdrawn, their adulteries, scheming, intrigue, bloody battles, murderous plots and shocking executions.

Beginning with the Godwines, towards the end of Saxon England, whose Earl of Wessex was one of the most powerful king-makers of the eleventh century and continues with the Despensers, the ancestors, some say of the family of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Lee also reveals the stories behind the prominent Cecils, who produced a dynasty of statesmen, politicians, soldiers, academics, advocates and a Nobel Laureate. Other influential families include the Churchills, the Cavendishes and the Norfolks as well as many of the prominent Irish and Scottish families such as the O'Neills and the Fitzgeralds.

Lee then examines the present day, when the concept of the dynasty is hard to pin down with the decreased power of the monarchy. 'Once the monarchy lost its power, what need for dynasties?' Lee asks who will be the modern dynasties and considers those who, in a wholly new arena, have continued the tradition of dynastic power through the twentieth century and into the twenty-first: the so-called 'media barons'.

This Sceptred Isle: The Dynasties book and audio cassette / compact disc will be available as a completed set (Voumes 1 -5) on April 2nd 2002 priced £50.00 (cassette) £60.00 (compact disc). Individual volumes are available priced £10.99 (cassette) £12.99 (compact disc), and there is also a companion book priced £17.99 (ISBN 0 563 53748 5).

This takes the entire canon to three sets. The first covered the period from 55BC to 1901AD, with the second concentrating on the Twentieth Century. Conveniently split into 20 year periods, there are five separate volumes available at £9.99 each on tape, or £14.99 on triple CD, or they can all be bought as a complete set for £50 on cassette, and £75 on CD. The series has been running on Radio 4 of a weekday from the last Bank Holiday and is scheduled to finish just before the millenium.

The first volume, charts from the turn of the century, 1901, to 1919. Covering the death of Queen Victoria, the growth of the suffragette movement, the First World War, and local changes in London such as the first Motor Buses.

The second covers the next twenty years, between the wars, and looks at the aftermath of WWI and the impact of the general strike. But far from all doom and gloom, it also covers the lighter side of life int he 20s and 30s, including the first loaf od sliced bread, and the glory days of Fred Perry. There is also an insight into the political lead up to the Second World War.

The third volume covers probably the most destructive and shaping period of this century, the Second World War, and because of this has more of a global approach. Following the horrors of the war, including the start of the atomic age and the bombing of Hiroshima, the surrender of the Germans,a nd the start of the Cold War, it also includes the beginnings of popular culture, Marylin Monroe, Elvis Presley, the Mini and the Festival of Britain.

The penultimate volume covers the years, 1959-1979, and is most notable for my birth in 1972!!!! In this period, we saw the erection of the Berlin Wall (only to come down some years later), the first Moon landings and the beginnings of the space race, the Vietnam war, and the success of Cassius Clay. Nearer home, the Beatles were carving a knotch in British cultural history, and Profumo caused a scandal.

In this volume, the last in the series, the Thatcher years are covered, as is the Falklands war, the greatest Royal Wedding ever, with nearer the end of the century the loss of one of the most popular Royals in a car crash. There was also the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Communist block, and the planning for the welcome of the next century and millenium.

The History of Britain is the second helping of 'popular history' from the BBC, however, this is the TV version of events spanning from 3000BC to the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Written and presented by British Historian Simon Schama, this epic series explores life's grand themes through Britain's rich and colourful history. The first 7 episodes of the series (currently running on BBC2) is available as a boxed set early in November (just in time for Christmas!) and covers the period from 3000BC to the court of Queen Elizabeth. There are another 9 episodes in the series that will be avialable next April (and will be shown on TV next year) bringing the story to a conclusion in the 20th Century.

To say that this is a very ambitious series is an understatement, and to all those who have an interest, even if it is a passing one, in the history of this great nation of ours, then this is a must. To make things even easier, there is a companion audio cassette read by Timothy West that covers the same period, and a full colour, hardback book.

The price for this knowledge? The video set is priced £29.99 and the audio set £14.99, BBCV 7053, and ISBN 0563 477598 respectively, with the book priced £25, ISBN 0563 384972.