Bettany Hughes Popular Books
Bettany Hughes Biography & Facts
Bettany Mary Hughes (born May 1967) is an English historian, author, and broadcaster, specialising in classical history. Her published books cover classical antiquity and myth, and the history of Istanbul. She is active in efforts to encourage the teaching of the classics in UK state schools. Hughes was appointed OBE in 2019. Early life and education Hughes grew up in West London. She is the daughter of actors Peter and Erica Hughes, and the sister of the cricketer and journalist Simon Hughes. She was educated at Notting Hill and Ealing High School in Ealing, and at St Hilda's College, Oxford, where she graduated with a degree in ancient and modern history. She has an honorary doctorate from the University of York. Career She is a visiting research fellow at King's College London, formerly a tutor for Cambridge University's Institute of Continuing Education, and an honorary fellow at Cardiff University. Hughes has written and presented many documentary films and series on both ancient and modern subjects. In 2009, she was awarded the Naomi Sargant Special Award for excellence in educational broadcasting, and in 2012 she was awarded the Norton Medlicott Award for services to history by the Historical Association, of which she is an honorary fellow. In 2010, she gave the Hellenic Institute's Tenth Annual lecture "Ta Erotika: The Things of Love"; in 2011, Hughes gave the Royal Television Society's Huw Wheldon Memorial Lecture, in which she argued that history on television is thriving and enjoying a new golden age. In 2011, she chaired the Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK's only annual book award for fiction written by women. Hughes is a patron of The Iris Project, a charity that promotes the teaching of Latin and Greek in UK state schools. She is an honorary patron of Classics For All, a national campaign to get classical languages and the study of ancient civilisations back into state schools. She is an advisor to the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation which aims to foster large-scale collaborative projects between East and West. In 2014, she was made a Distinguished Friend of the University of Oxford. Hughes is a Vice President of the National Churches Trust. She was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) on 3 March 2017. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to history. Personal life Hughes is married to Adrian Evans, events director and producer, who was pageant master for the Diamond and Platinum Jubilees; the couple have two daughters Sorrel and May. Hughes is a vegetarian. In 2016, she delivered the British Humanist Association's annual Voltaire Lecture. Recognition She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013. Books Hughes has written five books: Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore (2005) The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life (2010) Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities (2017) Venus and Aphrodite (2019) The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (2024) The Hemlock Cup was included in The New York Times Bestseller List. It was chosen as Book of the Year by The Daily Telegraph, and it was featured as a Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4. It was shortlisted for a Writer's Guild Award. Istanbul was reviewed by The New York Review of Books and was shortlisted for the Runciman Award in 2018. Venus and Aphrodite was shortlisted in 2021 for the Runciman Award. Other writings "Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore" – European Cultural Centre of Delphi, XIII International Meeting On Ancient Drama 2007, The Women in Ancient Drama, Symposium Proceedings "'Terrible, Excruciating, Wrong-Headed And Ineffectual': The Perils and Pleasures of Presenting Antiquity to a Television Audience" – Dunstan Lowe, Kim Shahabudin (ed.), Classics for All: Reworking Antiquity in Mass Culture. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1443801201 Credits Television programmes References External links Quotations related to Bettany Hughes at Wikiquote Bettany Hughes Official Web site. Discover the Bettany Hughes popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Bettany Hughes books.
Best Seller Bettany Hughes Books of 2024
-
Ramesses
Joyce TyldesleyEveryone has heard of Ramesses the Great but what is the truth behind the legend? Joyce Tyldesley's lively book explores the life and times of Egypt's greatest king. Ramesses II w...
-
The Ambassadors
Robert CooperHistory does not run in straight lines. Instead of inevitable progress, what we get is more often false starts, blind alleys, random events, good intentions that go wrong. Robert C...
-
The Crossroads of Civilization
Angus Robertson"From the Congress of Vienna to the Austria World Summit, the city of Vienna has hosted key meetings on peace to climate action. This is a firstclass book about Vienna as the cross...
-
Selected Short Stories
Rabindranath TagorePoet, novelist, painter and musician, Rabindranath Tagore (18611941) is the grand master of Bengali culture. Written during the 1890s, the stories in this selection brilliantly rec...
-
Eminent Victorians
Lytton StracheyEminent Victorians marked an epoch in the art of biography; it also helped to crack the old myths of high Victorianism and to usher in a new spirit by which chauvinism, hypocrisy a...
-
A Coup in Turkey
Jeremy SealThe most dramatic, revealing and littleknown story in Turkey's history which illuminates the nation'Through the spellbinding career of a single, illfated leader, Jeremy Seal illum...
-
The Greek Sophists
John DillonBy mid5th century BC, Athens was governed by democratic rule and power turned upon the ability of the citizen to command the attention of the people, and to sway the crowds of the ...
-
Istambul
Bettany HughesUma notável biografia de uma cidade fascinanteDo Alcorão a Shakespeare, esta cidade dos três nomes – Bizâncio, Constantinopla, Istambul – foi o centro do mundo, durante grande part...
-
Alexandria
Islam IssaAn original, authoritative, and lively cultural history of the first modern city, from preHomeric times to the present day.Islam Issa’s father had always told him about their city'...
-
Istanbul
John FreelyIstanbul's history is a catalogue of change, not least of name, yet it has managed to retain its own unique identity. John Freely captures the flavour of daily life as well as cour...
-
Russian Thinkers
Isaiah Berlin & Henry HardyFew, if any, Englishlanguage critics have written as perceptively as Isaiah Berlin about Russian thought and culture. Russian Thinkers is his unique meditation on the impact that R...
-
Venus and Aphrodite
Bettany Hughes'Lively' THE TIMES'Engrossing' THE SPECTATOR'Stunning' WOMAN & HOME'Marvellous' BBC HISTORY MAGAZINEThrough ancient art, evocative myth, intriguing archaeological discoveries a...
-
Olympic Gangster
Matt RendellRestlessly vital and possessed of great physical strength, José Beyaert lived many lives. During the Second World War, he boxed and trafficked arms for the Resistance on his bicycl...
-
To the City
Alexander Christie-MillerWalking along the crumbling defensive walls of Istanbul and talking to those he passes, Alexander ChristieMiller finds a story of the country’s history, a mirror of its present, an...
-
The Domesday Quest
Michael WoodIn 1086, Domesday Book, perhaps the most remarkable historical document in existence, was compiled. This tremendous story of England and its people was made at the behest of the No...
-
The Mad Emperor
Harry SidebottomWhat happens when you put the Roman Empire in the hands of a teenage boy? Discover the scandalous life and times of Rome's worst emperor. 'Buy the book; it's very entertaining.' Da...
-
The Penguin Book of Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt
Joyce TyldesleyFrom Herodotus to The Mummy, Western civilization has long been fascinated with the exotic myths and legends of Ancient Egypt but they have often been misunderstood. Here acclaimed...
-
Hatchepsut
Joyce TyldesleyQueen or, as she would prefer to be remembered King Hatchepsut was an astonishing woman. Brilliantly defying tradition she became the female embodiment of a male role, dressing i...
-
The Making of the British Landscape
Francis PryorThis is the changing story of Britain as it has been preserved in our fields, roads, buildings, towns and villages, mountains, forests and islands. From our suburban streets that s...
-
In The Footsteps Of Alexander The Great
Michael WoodMichael Wood retraces Alexander the Greats amazing journey from Greece to India, searching for the truth behind the legend and experiencing the tremendous scale of his achievements...
-
Mirror To Damascus
Colin ThubronA 50th anniversary edition of Colin Thubron's celebrated first book, a portrait of Syria's capital city, with a new introduction by the author.Described by the author as simply 'a ...
-
The Tale of Genji
Murasaki Shikibu & Royall TylerThe first complete new translation for 25 years of the acknowledged masterpiece of Japanese literature. Lady Murasaki's great 11th century novel is a beautifully crafted story of l...
-
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Bettany HughesAn immersive, aweinspiring tour of the ancient sites that kindle our imagination and afford us a glimpse into our shared history“This fascinating book is brimming with stories of p...
-
Estambul
Bettany HughesUna ciudad con tres nombres Bizancio, Constantinopla, Estambul que en sus seis mil años de historia ha sido capital de cuatro imperios el de Roma, el bizantino, el imperio latino d...
-
The History of Alexander
Quintus Curtius Rufus & John YardleyAlexander the Great (356323 BC), who led the Macedonian army to victory in Egypt, Syria, Persia and India, was perhaps the most successful conqueror the world has ever seen. Yet al...