A new three-part BBC Radio 4 series, ‘A Short History of Solitude’, – written and presented by Professor Thomas Dixon, begins on Monday 31st August. In the first episode, ‘Retreat’, Dixon explores some of the more extreme forms of solitude: anchorites, people who chose to be enclosed as a kind of living sacrifice to God; the hermits who sought isolation in the desert; and an artist who lived as Schrodinger’s Cat for 10 days and nights in a light- and sound-proof box.

Tune in to the series on Monday nights at 8pm on BBC Radio 4, or catch up on BBC Sounds.