Anna Massey narrates a new series by Christopher Lee that explores the important role certain powerful families have played in British history.

The Godwins. The most powerful dynasty of all, whose story began at the time of Aethelred the Unready and culminated in 1066.

BBC Radio Collection: This new series is now available on two volumes of audio cassettes and compact discs, and a hardback book to accompany the series has been published by BBC Books. Available from all good retailers and from [web address removed]. Call [number removed]

Slain in battle at Hastings, Harold II was the last of the influential Godwin family to become king of England

This Sceptred Isle 7.45pm R4
Far from seeing the end of history, as predicated by Francis Fukiyama, the subject is enjoying something of a renaissance. Radio 4 can justly claim that this brilliant series, first broadcast as a modest long-wave alternative to The Daily Service in 1995, has assisted in making history fashionable. Sales of tapes and a special CD edition available through BBC Worldwide have approached one million. Now the series gets a welcome airing in a new form, a specially recorded distillation, with the original producer Christopher Lee and the original narrator, Anna Massey. The secret of this programme's success lies in its focus on people, telling history through the stories of the families and individuals who shaped it. This is radio at its finest; serious but entertaining, informative but accessible.