Book of the Week - Climbing the Bookshelves
Shirley Williams reads from her autobiography
Book of the Week - Climbing the Bookshelves - Episode 1
Williams' early life and the enormous influence of her mother, Vera Brittain, and her father, George Caitlin - not to mention the permanent house guest, Winifred Holtby.
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Book of the Week - Climbing the Bookshelves - Episode 2
During the Second World War, Williams and her brother are sent to America as evacuees. When she returns, she is one of the first young people to visit war-shattered Germany.
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Book of the Week - Climbing the Bookshelves - Episode 3
In 1964, Williams is elected as Labour MP for Hitchin. She examines the difficulties facing a woman MP, many of which continue even today.
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Book of the Week - Climbing the Bookshelves - Episode 4
The launch of the Social Democratic Party in 1981. Determined not to be seen as merely a London initiative, the four new leaders went on a whirlwind tour of the country.
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Book of the Week - Climbing the Bookshelves - Episode 5
Despite its initial huge promise, the SDP finally wound down and merged with the Liberal Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats.
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