Arts & Literature
Wonderland: The Story of Christmas
So many classic children’s books deal with the festive season. There are Christmassy moments in great works by Charles Dickens, Hans Christian Andersen, Kenneth Grahame, J. M. Barrie, J.R.R. Tolkien and many more. This compelling arts documentary delves into both the joyous descriptions of yuletide created by these writers and also some darker moments in Christmas stories.
Wonderland: Lewis Carroll to JRR Tolkien
In one remarkable 60-year period, some of the most iconic children’s literature was written in Britain. An extraordinary range of authors created ‘Wonderlands’, imaginary places of happiness where sorrows were simply removed. This fascinating arts documentary showcases the lives of writers Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbit), AA Milne (Winnie the Pooh) and others.
Antiques Roadshow
BBC Select has a number of seasons of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow to stream in the US and Canada.
Season 39 travels the length of Great Britain inspecting the treasures of the general public, attempting to unearth some gems while uncovering the occasional fake. This series was marked by a very special visit to Balmoral Castle paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II as she became Britain’s longest-serving monarch.
Rembrandt
He was the most successful artist working in the richest city on Earth – glittering 17th-century Amsterdam. Like a modern-day rock star, he loved to live extravagantly. But money woes, tragedy and rumor soon left Rembrandt’s reputation in tatters. But these controversies spurred the artist on to create some of his most celebrated works.
Simon Schama delves into Rembrandt’s final, scandal-strewn years in this art history documentary.
The Art of Gothic
This BBC Select art history documentary spends some time down in the dungeon as it delves into the world of the Gothic.
Acclaimed art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon explores how a group of 19th-century architects and artists spurned the modern age and turned to Britain’s medieval past to create iconic works and buildings with a distinctly creepy edge.
But what attracted them to the dark side?