Plague Fiction

BBC Four

1:50 AM to 2:50 AM

Friday 18 July

Share

Add to
Calendar

+

In light of the Covid-19 global outbreak, Professor Laura Ashe takes a look back at the Black Death of the 14th century, the deadliest pandemic recorded in human history. Going through the literature of the time, from one of the earliest accounts in 1347, to the great Plague Diary of Samuel Pepys, Professor Ashe explores how literature helped us cope with fear and tragedy, the importance of bravery and personal sacrifice, and whether the words of the past can offer us the comfort and healing that we need now