{"product_id":"9781839028199","title":"Magic Rays of Light The Early Years of Television in Britain","description":"\u003ch1\u003eMagic Rays of Light\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe Early Years of Television in Britain\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eJohn Wyver\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerforming Arts \/ Film \/ General\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the evening of 26 January 1926, inventor John Logie Baird held a public demonstration in his workspace on London's Frith Street of a 'seeing by wireless' apparatus that he and many others had been working towards, television.  In the years that followed, variants of this astonishing device produced programming that was rich, complex and excitingly imaginative. Familiar television genres, including studio drama, quiz shows, variety spectaculars and sports broadcasts, were all fully realised in the 1930s. At the same time, early television was often strikingly different from later domestic broadcasting.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTelevision began with intimate entanglements with interwar cinema, theatre, music and dance. And, despite reaching only tiny audiences, from its beginnings television responded to key strands of social history, embracing legacies of the Great War, changing roles for women, suburban living and more.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMagic Rays of Light\u003c\/i\u003e is a unique and comprehensive cultural history of early television, exploring its technologies and institutions, while also celebrating the programmes and the people, the ideas and the innovations of the first decade of what would become the most consequential medium of the subsequent century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eJohn Wyver \u003c\/b\u003eis a writer and producer with Illuminations, and Professor of the Arts on Screen at the University of Westminster, UK. His numerous productions for television and event cinema have been honoured with a BAFTA, an International Emmy and a Peabody. His publications include \u003ci\u003eThe Royal Shakespeare Company on Screen: A Critical History\u003c\/i\u003e (2019) and the collection co-edited with Amanda Wrigley, \u003ci\u003eScreen Plays: Theatre Plays on British Television\u003c\/i\u003e (2022).\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e19 March 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBritish Film Institute\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781839028199\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e528\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e36.64\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51936360300684,"sku":"9781839028199","price":117.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_4576dd0f-5eb6-4b95-b11f-ee7f89536829.jpg?v=1786018387","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781839028199","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}