Germaine Greer

The New Elizabethans

The New Elizabethans: Germaine Greer. To mark the Diamond Jubilee, James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.

James Naughtie considers the provocative Australian born feminist and academic who is credited with making feminism appealing and accessible for a large audience of both men and women. She has said 'The more people we annoy, the more we know we're doing it right.'

With the publication of 'The Female Eunuch' in 1970 (which has never been out of print since) Greer won international fame and set out to transform women's lives. But in 1999 she examined the lack of progress that had occurred in society since that earlier publication and wrote 'The time has come to get angry again.'

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings. They were asked to choose: 'Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and given the age its character, for better or worse.'

Producer: Kate Howells.