As a history buff, I have a voracious appetite for the best historical documentaries. After all, I subscribe to Santayana’s assertion that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That sure holds more than true in America today.
But these days, I go proverbially across the pond to England for my favorite history docs fix to enjoy those hosted by Lucy Worsley. A historian, author, academic and curator of Britain’s unoccupied historic royal palaces, she presents her topics with an infectious fascination with and enthusiasm for whatever the subject at hand is. And she exudes such charm and likability that it all makes every show she does that I’ve seen, most all of her many for the BBC, a delight to watch.
Confession: One lesser reason I like the docs she hosts and narrates is that I have developed a bit of an innocent crush on Worsley. I readily admit that an English accent on a woman is like catnip to me; credit “The Avengers” coming on TV in the mid-’60s with Emma Peel in her catsuit just as I was hitting puberty. I’ve dated a few English women, and found not just their accents but ways most enchanting.
Too often academics don’t really have the zing on camera to be a presenter, as the Brits refer to Worsley and her ill. Yes she’s a natural on camera with that ineffable “it” that people who shine through the lens possess. Even though she has a small speech impediment in her pronunciation of the consonant “r” that would be, I’ll bet good money, an immedIate disqualification on US TV. Worsley even saw a speech therapist about it, to no avail. No matter. To me it burnishes her appeal as it indicates how real she is as a television personality. And it’s that fulsome personality that makes her so good at what she does.
She’s done some 50 docs since her first in 2009, which indicates that she must be doing her job at least as well as I think she does to the powers that be at “The Beeb” (in Brit shorthand). Nearly 30 are available on my streaming TV. Which means I’ve as yet only seen a small percentage. But those have sparked a near-addiction that will lead me to watch many more in the coming weeks and months.
Of special interest to readers in the US is “American History’s Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley.” The first of its three episodes identifies the myths and falsehoods of the American Revolution (in which she doesn’t display any bias of being on the losing side). The second does the same regarding our Civil War. The final examines latter-day American superiority. Her charm and factuality is a spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine of abandoning fictional legends go down smoothly.
Worsley applies the same rigor to her own nation’s history, as with “Royal History’s Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley.” One other such doc series I quite enjoyed by her is “A Very British Murder,” which examines both the nature and means of murder and the tools and means of detecting and solving the crime from the Edwardian era forward.
I most recently enjoyed “Blitz Spirit with Lucy Worsley” and how it filled in my already rather informed knowledge of the Nazi air attacks on England. Its examination of how the British populace remained resolute as death and destruction surrounded them. It whets my desire to see “Dancing Through The Blitz: Blackpool’s Big Band Story.” especially as one of her co-presenters is Jools Holland, whose wonderful skills as a keyboardist and avid music lover I’ve enjoyed since his days with the band Squeeze and make his ongoing BBC music show, “Later….” so delightful.
One aspect of her approach to what may even seem dry to many is how she relishes reading historical documents in old English, and savors the revelations. The pleasures, and even fun she derives from deep diving into her field of study, are infectious. I would not be surprised if somewhere in the UK and maybe even here in the states, there are young women inspired by Worsley to pursue history as an academic concentration and career.
TV Documentary: “Agatha Christie: 100 Years of Poirot and Mrs. Marple” – As an avid and well plus widely read lover of mysteries, I still didn’t realize how much Christie wrote much of the contemporary book on such books. This richly comprehensive doc on her life, works and their film and TV adaptations says she’s the most successful novelist ever. Must read more of her books (and see Worsley’s doc on her).
Feature Film: “Nyad” – This gripping tale of distance swimmer Diana Nyad’s quest to swim from Cuba to Key West features superb performances by Annette Bening as its namesake and Jodie Foster as her coach, both brimming with the mature mastery of their craft. As one watches it becomes nigh-on impossible not to get swept up in the challenge and feel its (and Nyad’s) toughness.
From The Progressive Populist, April 15, 2024
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Rob Patterson is a music and entertainment writer in Austin, Texas.
Email robpatterson054@gmail.com.