If It Ain't Baroque...

Welcome to our 150th episode! As a treat, we have something very special for you today. Heather R Darsie is back on the show, once more we talk of her upcoming book  " Katharine of Aragon: Spanish Princess: I Am Not as Simple as I May Seem ", published by Amberley Books . This book dives deep into Katharine’s life when she was a young princess in Spain. We get to learn all about her relations...

Welcome to our Royal Romance season. On this episode, we’ll be talking about Georgian Couples that didn’t have a happy ending.  Please welcome Catherine Curzon back as we learn more about the Georgian couples whose Happily Ever After seemed to have an expiration date. We’ll talking about George III of Great Britain & Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz   and Princess Charlotte of...

This is still Shakespeare Week, and today we present our latest episode celebrating this great poet and playwright. Words, words, words, indeed. Next up, we have Carol Ann Lloyd, an author of several books on the Tudors, and she’s also a researcher at the Folger Shakespeare Library. On this episode, Carol Ann and Natalie are exploring Shakespeare's Sassy Leading Ladies, and just how much agency th...

This is Shakespeare Week, so we have a mini series of episodes celebrating this great poet and playwright. Words, words, words, indeed. Next up, we have Ramie Targoff and we’ll be talking about her latest book Shakespeare’s Sisters which celebrates the lives of William’s near contemporaries - the ladies who wrote. Anne Clifford, Aemilia Lanyer, Mary Sidney and Elizabeth Cary - let’s hear more abou...

This is Shakespeare Week, so we have a mini series of episodes celebrating this great poet and playwright. Words, words, words, indeed. Today our guest is Matt Pinches, the co-founder of Guildford Shakespeare Company .  And we’ll be talking about The Comedy of Errors, the play that the company is putting on a bit later in the year…  Find GSC : https://www.guildford-shakespeare-company.co...

Today is the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, as well as his potential birthday. We’re here to honour this great playwright and poet with a mini season of episodes, all to do with him. First up, is Darren Freebury-Jones with his latest book - SHAKESPEARE'S BORROWED FEATHERS - published by Manchester University Press , it’s all about William’s writing process and which authors and friend...

Royal Love Stories Told Wrong: Cupid Painted Blind   On this episode we’re looking at the royal love stories which are different from how they’re usually told. To help sort out fact from fiction, we have great historians with us today. The couples we’ll be talking about include:  Isabella of France & Edward II of England ( Sharon Bennett Connolly ) Anne Boleyn & Henry VIII..also...

On the 19th April 1824 at the age of 36, George Gordon Byron, the 6th Baron died in Greece. Today we sit down and talk to Emily Brand, a Georgian historian and the biographer of the Byron family. We’ll be discussing her book The Fall of the House of Byron: Scandal and Seduction in Georgian England released by John Murray Press (Hachette UK). Welcome, Emily!  The Fall of the House of Byron : h...

Please welcome Darren Baker back on the podcast, and we’re going to talk about his latest book - The Confessions and Chronicle of Lord Edward , meaning we’re going to be digging up dirt on the young future Edward I, also known as Longshanks. Darren's Books : Henry III, his brother, his sister and his wife https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/henry-iii/ https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Two-...

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Culloden where in 1746 the British Army defeated the  Jacobites, the supporters of the House of Stuart. It’s considered to be the last civil war fought on British soil. Let’s welcome Dr Callum Watson back on the show. Callum works at the site of the Battle of Bannockburn and who recently released a book on the topic with Pen & Sword Publishing. Ca...

We Found Love Right Where We Are: Arranged Love Blossoming On this episode we’re looking at the Royal Couples, who were brought together by an arranged marriage. Despite this, they found love and comfort in the union. We have great historians with us today. Darren Baker, Sharon Bennett Connolly and Heather R Darsie. The couples in question saluted today will include: Henry III of England and Elean...

Please welcome Dan E Parkes back to the podcast, the author of  Titanic Legacy: The Captain, the Daughter and the Spy with Amberley Publishing. He also has a Youtube channel called Captain Titanic where he searches for the truth about this great ship. Today is the anniversary of the ship’s sinking, so we’ll be busting a lot of myths about Titanic’s maiden voyage and her sinking. Welcome back,...

Join us as we explore the love stories of the past. Uneasy Lies the Spouse that Wears the Crown: Trouble in Paradise... On this episode, we’ll be talking about the many royal couples that didn’t have a happy ending. Their Happily Ever After seemed to have an expiration date. Please welcome Sharon Bennett Connolly, Heather R Darsie and Amy McElroy back on the podcast as we learn more about the coup...

On the 9th April 1806 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, a little boy was born. Few could have predicted the impact his work would have on the world.  His name was Isambard Kingdom Brunel . As a special treat in honour of Mr Brunel’s birthday, today I talk to Rob Bell , an engineer, podcaster and TV presenter. You may recognise him from Channel 5 documentaries on Britain’s Bridges, Ships, Lightho...

Join us as we explore the love stories of the past. Swiped Left: Strange Royal Bedfellows... On this episode, we’ll be talking about the many royal couples that didn’t take to each other and thus the union weren’t ultimately successful. Sharon Bennett Connolly kicks us off with the story of Philip II of France and Ingeborg of Denmark, and we’ll continue with  Henry III of Navarre/ ...

Please welcome John Matthews to the show. And we’ll be talking about his upcoming book  Voyages with the Celtic Saints: Stories and Wisdom for Travellers in Search of Truth.   Voyages of Celtic Saints: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Voyages-Celtic-Saints-Stories-Travelers/dp/0764368796/ (UK) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Voyages-Celtic-Saints-Stories-Travelers-ebook/dp/B0DYL4V2X5/ (UK) https://redf...

Welcome to our Romance Royale series. On this episode, we’ll be talking about the King’s many grannies. The royal couplings that had to happen to further the family tree.  We’re looking at five such couples today,  James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort, Owain Tudor and Catherine of Valois, Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, And of course, James VI/I and...

Many people know the Hundred Years’ War, and almost everyone in the English speaking world has heard of the Battle of Agincourt, but not many would be familiar with the The Battle of Baugé which was fought on the 22nd March 1421 between the English and the Franco-Scottish forces in the territory of Baugé in France. Let’s ask Callum Watson more about this conflict.  Callum works at the site of...

Welcome to season SEVEN of our podcast! Everybody knows Shakespeare.    However, perhaps not as well known to most is that beneath the surface, much of Shakespeare’s work surrounds ideas of gender and queerness.  Many of the plays are concerned with cross-dressing, gender fluidity, and same-sex friendships that many scholars have interpreted to be much more.  Drawing inspiratio...

On this episode, we’ll be talking about Royal Couples that truly fit the trope of Friends to Lovers. The title of the episode is Give Me Your Hand and Let Me All Your Fortunes Understand , meaning our couples today knew each other of old and had to get married for practical reasons, but they grew to love each other with time.   On the Royal Menu today we have: The Fair Maid Joan of Kent...

Please welcome James Tejani on the show. We’re talking about his book A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth: The Making of the Port of Los Angeles and America. Published last year with WW Norton and Company . Let’s find out more about the San Pedro Bay and how it transformed into one of the most imPORTant locations in the world. Pun intended. What was the significance of this spot, why was it chosen,...

Welcome to our Royal Romance season. On this episode, we’ll be talking about Royal Pairs that never got together.  The couples in question were considered by the powers that be, or they took a fancy to each other, but they either weren’t allowed to follow through with their plans, or fate decided otherwise.  We’re looking at four such couples today, Richard III & Isabella of Castile...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! Gemma Hollman is back on the show! This time with her latest book  Women in the Middle Ages: Illuminating the World of Peasants, Nuns and Queens (Abbeville Press). This book has women’s stories told with some serious help from contemporary art. How were women depicted in paintings, pictures and drawings? Let’s find out more... Find Gemma : htt...

Join us this month and explore the love stories of the past. Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing with you our chats to various historians and we’ll be covering all the ways that Royals can come together, be it through arranged marriage, secret engagements or chance meetings.  My Heart Flies to Your Service... On this episode of our Valentines Series, we’re looking at couples, where a mon...

Please welcome to the podcast Dan E Parkes , he has just released a book called Titanic Legacy: The Captain, the Daughter and the Spy with Amberley Publishing . What happened to the family of Titanic ’s captain E J Smith after the sinking? Where their lives affected by other disasters of the 20th century? Is it true that his daughter’s husband is the original James Bond? Let’s find out… Of co...