Documentary The Circle of the Hills, a biography of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)



Currently, the only documentary biography of Alfred, Lord Tennyson is this one, The Circle of the Hills. Only on VHS, remember them? There are two copies uploaded to YouTube. One of them I am sharing linked above. It is one hour long and very well done. It profiles the Victorian-era poet laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892). Immensely popular in his own time, he's probably best known to Americans for his rousing historical poem {-The Charge of the Light Brigade}. The biography features footage of British locales, including Tennyson's birthplace, Lincolnshire, and his later home on the Isle of Wight. Highlights include paintings and photographs from contemporary photographer Julia Margaret Cameron and readings of Tennyson's work by actor David Collings.(New York Times) desciption.

  • Title: The Circle of the Hills: A Biography of Alfred, Lord Tennyson
  • Running Time: 61 Minutes
  • Genre: Biography
  • 1993
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WoofWoof said…
Funny, I was looking at this on youtube only a couple of weeks ago. It is wonderful that someone has taken the trouble to put it on youtube. I expect it was made for the centenary in 1992? I think it's a very good documentary, with a very sensitive commentary. You must have found it interesting to see so many of the sites which you have only recently seen in real life. Another documentary that I would love to see but is no doubt lost somewhere in the BC's archives is one by Melvyn Bragg. I remember during an 'In our time' programme on the radio a few years ago on the subject of In Memoriam, he mentioned that he had filmed outside Arthur Hallams home early one morning in the 1960s for a documentary he was doing! That would be interesting. Another old TV programme I would love to see is the drama done by Ken Russell in the 1970s about Wordsworth and Coleridge (never been available on dvd/video). Never mind! Anyway, thanks for bringing this one to a wider audience.
September 2, 2015 at 2:11 PM
Kimberly Eve said…
Hi WoofWoof,

The centenary might be a strong possibility. Who knows. Yes, I did watch it again since being back home and what a different experience.
I love Melvyn Bragg and used to listen to In Our Time all the time. I remember a few Tennyson themed episodes and one about Lewis Carroll that was really good. Ken Russell drama sounds good too!
September 2, 2015 at 3:54 PM
Unknown said…
Hi yes indeed me and my friend Alan Mumby made this documentary in 1992 to celebrate the centenary (well actually we had very little commercial video work so we decided to make it on spec!) We live about 10 miles away from Somersby. Glad you found it useful. Pete Conner
October 27, 2015 at 6:45 PM
Dave said…
Kimberly,
Glad you posted this. I didn't know this documentary existed. A good watch.
I'm a poet from the States. And I'm quite obsessed with Tennyson's work!
August 6, 2019 at 7:44 PM
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