Bettany Hughes

Bettany Mary Hughes OBE FSA (born May 1967)[1][2] is an English historian, author and broadcaster, specialising in classical history. Her published books cover classical antiquity and myth, and the history of Istanbul. She is active in efforts to encourage the teaching of the classics in UK state schools. Hughes was appointed OBE in 2019.

Bettany Hughes

OBE FSA
filming of Britain's Secret Treasures at the British Museum, 2013
BornMay 1967 (age 53)
NationalityBritish
EducationNotting Hill and Ealing High School
Alma materSt Hilda's College, Oxford
OccupationBroadcaster and writer
Known forTelevision history; radio broadcasting; author
Spouse(s)Adrian Evans
Children2
Parent(s)Peter Hughes, Erica Hughes
RelativesSimon Hughes (brother)
Websitebettanyhughes.co.uk

Early life, education and career

Hughes was raised in West London.[3] She was educated at Notting Hill and Ealing High School in Ealing, and at St Hilda's College, Oxford, where she graduated with a degree in ancient and modern history.[4]

She is a visiting research fellow at King's College London, an honorary fellow at Cardiff University, and the holder of an honorary doctorate from the University of York.[5]

Bettany Hughes speaking with Ralph Jackson (Curator of Romano-British Collections at the British Museum) during filming of Britain's Secret Treasures at the British Museum

Hughes has written and presented many documentary films and series on both ancient and modern subjects. In 2009, she was awarded the Naomi Sargant Special Award for excellence in educational broadcasting,[6] and in 2012 she was awarded the Norton Medlicott Award for services to history by the Historical Association, of which she is an honorary fellow.[7]

In 2010 she gave the Hellenic Institute's Tenth Annual lecture "Ta Erotika: The Things of Love",[8] and in 2011 gave the Royal Television Society's Huw Wheldon Memorial Lecture, in which she argued that history on television is thriving and enjoying a new golden age.[9] In 2011 she chaired the Orange Prize for Fiction,[10] the UK's only annual book award for fiction written by women.[11]

Hughes is a patron of The Iris Project, a charity that promotes the teaching Latin and Greek in UK state schools.[12] She is an honorary patron of Classics For All, a national campaign to get classical languages and the study of ancient civilisations back into state schools.[13] She is an advisor to the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation which aims to foster large-scale collaborative projects between East and West.[14]

In 2014, she was made a Distinguished Friend of the University of Oxford.[15] In 2016, Hughes delivered the British Humanist Association's annual Voltaire Lecture.[16] She was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London on 3 March 2017.[17] She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to history.[18]

Family and personal life

Hughes is the daughter of actor Peter Hughes and the sister of cricketer and journalist Simon Hughes. Bettany Hughes is married to Adrian Evans; the couple have two children.[19] She is a vegetarian.[20]

Books

Hughes has written four books:

The Hemlock Cup was included in The New York Times Bestseller List. It was chosen as Book of the Year by The Daily Telegraph,[25] and it was featured as a Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4.[26] It was shortlisted for a Writer's Guild Award.[27]

Istanbul was reviewed by The New York Review of Books.[28]

Other writings
  • "Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore" – European Cultural Centre of Delphi, XIII International Meeting On Ancient Drama 2007, The Women in Ancient Drama, Symposium Proceedings
  • "'Terrible, Excruciating, Wrong-Headed And Ineffectual': The Perils and Pleasures of Presenting Antiquity to a Television Audience" – Dunstan Lowe, Kim Shahabudin (ed.), Classics for All: Reworking Antiquity in Mass Culture. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1443801201

Credits

Television programmes
Year Title Channel Notes
2002The SpartansChannel 4Part of The Ancient World documentary series
2004The MinoansChannel 4Part of The Ancient World documentary series
2005When the Moors Ruled in EuropeChannel 4Part of The Ancient World documentary series
2005Helen of TroyChannel 4Part of The Ancient World documentary series
2007Athens: The Truth about DemocracyChannel 4Part of The Ancient World documentary series
2008Engineering Ancient EgyptChannel 4Part of The Ancient World documentary series
2010Alexandria: The Greatest CityChannel 4Part of The Ancient World documentary series
2011Seven Wonders of the Buddhist WorldBBC2
2012Divine WomenBBC2
2012-2013Britain's Secret TreasuresITVCo-presented with Michael Buerk
2013Britain's Secret HomesITVCo-presented with Michael Buerk
2015Genius of the Ancient WorldBBC4
2016Genius of the Modern WorldBBC4
2017Venus Uncovered: Ancient Goddess of LoveBBC4
2017Eight Days That Made RomeChannel 5
2018Bacchus Uncovered: Ancient God of EcstasyBBC4
2019Mars Uncovered: Ancient God of WarBBC4
2019The Nile: Egypt's Great RiverChannel 5
2019Egypt's Great TreasuresChannel 5
2020A Greek OdysseyChannel 5
2020Secrets of Pompeii's Greatest TreasuresChannel 5
2021Egypt's Great Mummies: Unwrapped with Bettany HughesChannel 5Also known as Top Ten Treasures: Egyptian Mummies[29]

References
  1. "Bettany Hughes". British Council. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  2. "Bettany Mary Hugues". Companies House. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  3. "About Bettany". bettanyhughes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  4. "Bettany Hughes". st-hildas.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  5. "University awards five honorary degrees". york.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. "VLV Awards 2009". vlv.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  7. "The HA honours Bettany Hughes for services to History: Medlicott Medal 2012". HA News. The Historical Association. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  8. "7 February 2011: Tenth Annual Hellenic Institute Lecture". News and Events. Royal Holloway, University of London: The Hellenic Institute. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  9. "Huw Wheldon Lecture 2011 with Bettany Hughes: TV – Modern Father of History". Royal Television Society Lecture. BBC. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  10. "ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION 2011 JUDGES ANNOUNCED". Orange Prize. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  11. "History of the prize". womensprizeforfiction.co.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Supporters". classicsforall.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  14. "Aims & Mission". fstc.org.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  15. "Dr Bettany Hughes becomes a Distinguished Friend of Oxford". Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
  16. British Humanist Association (25 May 2016), The Voltaire Lecture 2016, with Bettany Hughes | Socrates, Confucius, and the Buddha, retrieved 8 June 2016
  17. "Prof Bettany Hughes". Society of Antiquaries of London. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  18. "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B12.
  19. "My perfect weekend: Bettany Hughes, historian". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  20. Silverman, Rosa (20 October 2017). "Bettany Hughes on how the 'snowflake generation' may have cracked the work-life balance". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  21. "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  22. "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  23. "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  24. "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  25. "Books of the Year for Christmas: History". The Daily Telegraph. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  26. "Book of the Week: The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life". Book of the Week. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  27. "Writer's Guild Awards 2011". writersguild.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  28. Hansen, Suzy (22 February 2018). "Istanbul Blues". The New York Review of Books.
  29. "Top Ten Treasures: Egyptian Mummies". dcdrights.com. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
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