At the heart of Oxford University life, the Bodleian Library is one of the oldest working libraries in Europe with some of its reading rooms – the medieval Duke Humfrey’s Library and the circular Radcliffe Camera – immortalised in films, including The Golden Compass the Harry Potter franchise. With access to priceless archives including Jane Austen’s unfinished novel The Watsons, this documentary reveals how the Elizabethan diplomat Sir Thomas Bodley created this extraordinary library and how it flourishes as a modern institution.
Contributors : Naomi Hillman, Joanna Trollope, Dr. Chris Fletcher, Richard Ovenden OBE, Maggie Lee.