Marco Polo

Marco Polo has been the subject of treatments. The Adventures of Marco Polo was produced by the Australian BBC and first broadcast in 1950. It consists of 52 quarter-hour episodes that were broadcast twice a week.

It follows the journey of young Marco Polo to 13th Century China near the beginning of the European Renaissance at a time when trade between China and Europe along the Silk Road was starting to grow.

The show is based on Marco Polo's book telling of the adventures there and back again (to borrow a phrase from J. R. R. Tolkien). I've not read Polo's book, but, from what I have read about it, I know the journey was indeed an adventurous and treacherous one, with shipwrecks and bandits and other hazards. Nevertheless, from the episodes that I listened to, I got the feeling that a few extra adventures may have been added for the benefit of the listening audience.

For more information, see Radio Archives.

Series description provided by Frank Bell.