History Lessons

Orlando Figes is a Professor of History. Previously, he was a lecturer in history and fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. His book A People’s Tragedy received a number of awards, and he is the author of many other books on Russian history.

Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster. Her books include Venus and Aphrodite: History of a Goddess, Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities, The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search For The Good Life and Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore. Among her numerous awards are the Medlicott Medal for services to history, Europe’s Cultural Heritage Prize, and an OBE for services to history. 

Matthew Longo is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Leiden University. His is the award-winning author of The Politics of Borders and has also written a reconstruction of an epic Cold War border breach, The Picnic. He lives in The Netherlands. 

Dava Sobel is the author of the international bestseller Longitude and Pulitzer Prize finalists Galileo’s Daughter, A More Perfect Heaven and The Glass Universe. She is the recipient of the Individual Public Service Award from the National Science Board, the Kumpke-Roberts Award from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other honours. Her latest book is The Elements of Marie Curie. 

Annabelle Quince has forged a varied career across the legal profession (as a researcher and lecturer), film and television (as a director, producer, scriptwriter and researcher) and in radio (as a producer and presenter). During her 10 years with Late Night Live, she produced a number of series with Phillip Adams, including the India program ‘A Billion Voices’. In 2000 she took a year’s leave to produce and direct the documentary Watching the Detective, a film about women private investigators.