John Donne: Poet of Love, Sex and Death

Dan Snow's History Hit

John Donne (1572-1631) lived myriad lives. Sometime religious outsider and social disaster, sometime celebrity preacher and establishment darling, John Donne was incapable of being just one thing. He was a scholar of law, a sea adventurer, an MP, a priest, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral – and perhaps the greatest love poet in the history of the English language.

Katherine Rundell, author and academic, joins Dan on the podcast. They discuss Donne’s conversion from Catholicism to Protestantism, his imprisonment for marrying a high-born girl without her father’s consent, and his often ill health and familial struggles.

Produced by Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

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