Following on from the success for series one of The Prime Ministers, it was only a matter of time before Nick Robinson cast his eye across another eight historical leaders.

Nick Robinson: The Prime Ministers - Series 2 (1 hr, 55 min) takes a look at the careers of William Pitt the Younger, Earl Grey, William Gladstone, Herbert Asquith, Ramsay MacDonald, Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath. Like the first set, this is presented over two CDs.

For many, who had to suffer ploughing through nineteenth century British history, may think this would be a very dry fare, however, it not only does Robinson’s enthusiasm for his subject come through, but the use of modern politicians and academics makes the short pieces seem more rounded. The biggest complaint is the brevity of time spent on each of the characters, often less than fifteen minutes, meaning that these are more sketches of their time in office rather than any in depth analysis of their contributions.

That said, it’s a great series for those whose political history is scant.

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Charles Packer