The Deadliest Book in England

You may not know it but your daily conversations, the music you listen to and the TV shows you watch are suffused with the coinages of one remarkable translator.

William Tyndale took his life in his hands when he set about making his 1526 translation of the New Testament which was intended to be understood by everyday English speakers.

Five hundred years after his life as a fugitive on the continent, and its illicit printing, if you listen to Sign of the Times, watch Taskmaster or pay your "landlady", you are unwittingly partaking in Tyndale's amazing verbal creativity.

The lexicographer Susie Dent sets out to find out more about an English icon of writing. From a surprise find in the library of St Paul's Cathedral to a discussion of "verbing", Susie discovers that alongside the burgeoning Reformation, lies a story of wild linguistic innovation.

David Crystal takes us through some of the lexicographical leaps which eventually populated that cornerstone of an English education, The King James Bible, and Professor Lucy Wooding explains the motivations of Henry VIII in wanting to control a new version of scripture. Ros Schwartz takes us through the creative challenges of working as a translator - which remain essentially the same 500 years on.

Karen Limper-Herz, Head of Printed Heritage Collections at the British Library, takes us through her exhibition The Power of the Printed Word, Tyndale's New Testament, and St Paul's Cathedral Collections Engagement Manager Penny Sexton talks about A Dangerous Calling: 500 years of William Tyndale's New Testament, which is open until February 2027.

Presented by Susie Dent
Produced by Kevin Core