Personal History

I wish Plantagenet had been on in the nineties. History is a subject I couldn't warm to in school, it never seemed particularly real or important to me. Would that have been different if I'd had an enthralling radio drama to transform those names into people? Ummmm... Probably not. I really, really disliked history.

But, as an adult, I was more thoroughly drawn into the life of Henry V while listening to Plantagenet than I ever was during history lessons. Or, for that matter, during English GCSE as our unfortunate teacher tried desperately to make us love - or at least quietly tolerate - Shakespeare's Henry V. It was easier after we'd been to the RSC and seen a production starring a rather good looking actor as Henry, but that was not entirely the point.

If you've not heard Plantagenet before, please give it a go. Particularly if you think you have no interest in history. It's in its third series and, from what I gather on the BBC site, this is the last (no surprise really as they must be running short on Plantagenet kings by now). 

The first thing to say is that this is not a history lesson. What's the top fact that most people know about Henry V? That he won the battle of Agincourt. Well, Henry V: True Believers completely skips that and concentrates on two aspects of Henry's life: the time before he became king; and his marriage with the French princess, Catherine.

I don't remember much about Shakespeare's Henry V. It was about war and Shakespeare was setting out what it meant to be a good king. Also, I think there were some french puns. But, after listening to Plantagenet yesterday, I wanted to read the play again. I had never really understood that those events at Agincourt sat in the context of a wider and far more interesting life.  An arrow to the face? Burning old friends to death? Perhaps a victory in France is one of the less interesting thing about him.

I've loved Plantagenet since I heard the first series, it never fails to bring its historical figures to life. That's not to say that the story should be confused with cold, hard history. Far from it. One of the strongest themes of True Believers was the myth drawn up around Henry V which carved a path through the history books. It began before he took the throne and ended long after his death. Taking Mike Walker's version of Henry to heart would be as misguided as trusting to Shakespeare's fiction of Prince Hal, debauched youth reborn into a noble and exemplary king.

But this is drama. And it's spectacular drama. It makes you care, it makes you understand. It takes those dusty historical figures and throws them at you covered in mud and blood, wreathed in passion and hatred. A drama like this brings to life a world that would otherwise stay buried under half-remembered GCSE texts and the dry dates of history.

I'll take dramatic licence every time.