Michael Holroyd - A Strange Eventful History

Michael Holroyd is one of our leading biographers. He discusses A Strange Eventful History, his revealing biography of some of British theatre's most influential figures, Ellen Terry and Henry Irving.

Henry Irving - a merchant's clerk who became the saviour of British theatre - and Ellen Terry, who made her first theatre appearance as soon as she could walk, were the king and queen of the Victorian stage. Creatively interdependent, they founded a power-house of arts at the Lyceum Theatre, with Bram Stoker as business manager, where they recast Shakespeare's plays on an epic scale and took the company on lucrative and exhilarating international tours.

In this 2009 group biography Michael Holroyd explores the public and private lives of the two actors, showing how their artistic legacy and their brilliant but troubled children came to influence the modern world.

Presented by James Naughtie.

April's Bookclub choice : Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (2009)

Interviewed guest : Michael Holroyd
Presenter : James Naughtie
Producer : Dymphna Flynn.