If It Ain't Baroque...

Please welcome to the podcast Dr Brooke Newman, and today we're talking about her latest ground-breaking book The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of Slavery and the British Monarch, published by Mariner Books (USA) and Mudlark (UK). Welcome, Brooke! Get Crown's Silence : https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-crowns-silence-brooke-n-newman/1147885987 (USA) https://www.waterstones.com/book/978000...

On the 18th February in the year of our Lord 1516, a girl was born at Greenwich Palace to the happy parents Henry VIII and Katharine of Aragon. This girl would grow up to be the future Mary I of England , elder sister to both Edward VI and Elizabeth I, as well as wife to Philip II of Spain. In her short 42 year life, she achieved many first, not least of all to be the first Crowned Queen of Englan...

You think you know Notting Hill? Think again. Let's go back to the 1950's and 60's London. One individual should stand out - and that's the notorious landlord Peter Rachman , after whom rachmanism is named after. In the Oxford English Dictionary, it means the exploitation and intimidation of tenants by unscrupulous landlords. Today we sit down with Neil Root , the author of Rachman...

Today we're talking to Mark Goldthorp, who played Henry VIII in the recent production of Anne Boleyn: The Musical at Hever Castle, produced by Historalia. Let's find out what it was like to step into the shoes of this infamous monarch and why this musical is so unique... Welcome, Mark!   Find Mark: https://mamma-mia.com/uk-and-international-tour/cast/mark-goldthrop https://www.instagram.com/m...

Today we're talking to Fawn Brokaw Doyle, author of a historical fiction novel Salt People of the Cloud Houses, which traces her eight times great grandmother Sarah Rapalje, who was the first European child born in the area we now call New York... Welcome, Fawn! Get Salt People of the Cloud Houses : https://books.fawnbrokawdoyle.com/ Get Prequel : https://www.fawnbrokawdoyle.com/free-prequel Find...

Please welcome historian Carol Chillington Rutter to the show, and today we're talking about the life and times of Henry Wotton, a Tudor and Jacobean Italian ambassador who helped prevent a pan-European war. Who was he? Let's find out more... Welcome, Carol! Carol's books are published with Manchester University Press . A great thank you to Carol for joining us today, and if you would like to see...

On the 30th January in the year of our Lord 1649, the King of England, Scotland and Ireland - Charles I - was led to his execution. Let's find out more about the days leading up to his death and whether it could have been stopped. With us today we have author and historian Mark Turnbull . He has published Charles I's Private Life with Pen & Sword . Welcome back, Mark! Get Mark's Books : https:...

Please welcome to the podcast Adam Pennington, who has written a book about The House of Pole, Henry VIII's cousins. Published by Pen & Sword . At the centre we have the matriarch Margaret Pole, daughter of the Duke of Clarence, the infamous victim of Malmsey wine. Her son Reginald would go on to be the greatest supporter of Mary I, and Margaret's grand-daughter Dorothy would become a friend o...

Please welcome back historian Susan Abernethy to the show, and today we're talking about the backbone of the medieval Burgundian court, in short, its most formidable women. This is an intro to this world, there is so much to explore! Where is Burgundy? How was the Burgundian court and the Tudors connected? What language did they speak and when did this duchy lose its independence? Susan has just w...

Today we're talking to curator Louise Macfarlane at Royal Museums Greenwich! Uncover Cutty Sark 's secrets: Did she always carry tea? Was there ever a murder aboard the ship? How did the museum deal with the devastating fire in 2007? Tune in and climb aboard!   Read Cutty Sark: https://shop.rmg.co.uk/products/the-cutty-sark-pocket-manual Cutty Sark Mementoes : https://shop.rmg.co.uk/search?pa...

Did you know that Vikings did raids on the Baltics? What did it mean 'to go viking'? Tune in and get a glimpse of the much expanded world of vikings, thanks to Alex Harvey's latest research. The paperback of his best-selling book The Forgotten Vikings is out now, published by Amberley . Get Forgotten Vikings: https://www.amberley-books.com/forgotten-vikings.html Get Little Kingdoms : https://www.p...

Today we're talking to Margarette Lincoln and her book on our fair capital, titled London and the 17th Century: The Making of the World's Greatest City , published by Yale University Press . Let's find out how did London change from the reigns of James VI & I to Glorious Revolution? What was the landscape like? And what is it about The Queen's House and the Banqueting House that makes them so...

Today we’re talking to Gareth Russell , a historian and author, whose book on the late Queen Mum we’ll be discussing today. Did you know she had met the mother of Nicholas II? Or that she was born in Scotland? Would it surprise you to learn one of her suitors was called James Stuart? Let's find out more... Gareth's book was published with William Collins in the UK and Atria Books / Simon & Sch...

Today we're talking to Claire Warrior, the polar expert at Royal Museums Greenwich. The topic - Lady Jane Franklin, the wife of explorer Sir John Franklin, who never came back from his third voyage to the Arctic. Let's find out more about this fascinating unconventional Victorian couple. Welcome, Claire!   P.S. we have new tracks on our episode tonight, courtesy of jimmy cheeseburgah, please...

On the 17th December in the year of our Lord 1619, a boy was born to Elizabeth Stuart and Frederick V of Bohemia. He would grow up to be his uncle's fierce cavalier commander with the ever-romantic moniker - Rupert of the Rhine . To give dynastic context - Rupert was grandson to James VI & I, nephew to Charles I, and uncle to the future George I. If you ever needed a link between the Stuarts a...

Have you ever heard of Frederick Rutland ? The British hero of WW1, who ended up working as a freelance spy for America, as well as Japan? Let’s find our more, today we’re talking to Ronald Drabkin, who has written a biography of Frederick: Beverly Hills Spy. Called so because during his espionage days, Fred lived it up large in Hollywood. Published by Harper Collins . Welcome, Ronald! Get Beverly...

Today we’re talking to Andrew Taylor, the author of the best-selling series Ashes of London , set in the 17th century. Published by Harper Collins . Welcome, Andrew! Get Ashes of London: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-ashes-of-london-james-marwood-cat-lovett-book-1-andrew-taylor?variant=40027853750350 (UK) https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-ashes-of-london-andrew-taylor?variant=4...

Today we’re talking to Catherine Ostler and her book Duchess Countess , all about the extraordinary and perfectly scandalous life of Elizabeth Chudleigh . Why was she one of the most famous women of the 18th century? Did she really meet Catherine the Great? How did a girl from the English countryside end up running a vodka distillery in the Baltics AND owning a Chateau in France? Let’s find out mo...

Welcome to our 200th episode! Good News! Heather R Darsie is back on the show, this time to talk about Henry VIII's professional life. What was he like as a King, whose job it was to keep his country safe? How did the law play into his kingship? Let's find out... Welcome back, Heather! Pre-Order The Judicial Murder of Anne Boleyn (...Henry VIII definitely did that...) https://www.amberley-books.co...

Let’s talk Charlotte Brontë and the last few years of her life.  What was the big scandal about the biography that came out soon after her death? Who was affected? And how do we know what really went on with this remarkable woman? Joining us today is historian and author Graham Watson , who has written a book on the topic, called Inventing Charlotte Brontë, published with The History Press in...

On the 19th November in the year of our Lord 1600, a boy was born in Scotland at Dunfermline Palace - he was the second son and the third child of the King of Scotland, James VI. Few could have predicted he would one day be king, not just of Scotland, but also of England and Ireland. No one could have foretold this boy would die on the scaffold for treason against his own country… This boy was of...

Today we're talking to Hannah at Royal Museums Greenwich! Let's find out why a trip to the National Maritime Museum is crucial when visiting London.   Find Royal Museums Greenwich : https://www.rmg.co.uk/ Find Pirates Exhibition: https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/pirates Visit Greenwich (...best place to be) : https://www.visitgreenwich.org.uk/whats-on/pirates-exhibition...

On the 16th November 1272 Henry III of England breathed his last. The grandson of Eleanor of Aquitaine, son of King John and father of Edward I, he often gets overshadowed by his retrospectively more illustrious relatives and nemeses. Let’s look at the king who preferred peace to war, giving money instead of taking it, and who had one of the longest reigns in the history of the British isles.&nbsp...

Today we have a special treat: we're going to put all those Anne Boleyn myths to bed. Once and for all. Returning to the podcast we have Heather R Darsie , who will bust all those myths and mysteries surrounding the second wife of Henry VIII. Why did she have to die? What was her actual crime? Could she have had another fate? Why was the French executioner involved? Tune in, relax and get some Tud...

John Matthews is back on the podcast, this time to talk about his new book - Realms of the Round Table , which is a collection of stories of King Arthur like you’ve never seen them before.  Published by Harper Collins in the UK and Pegasus in the USA. Welcome back, John! Get Realms of The Round Table : https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/realms-of-the-round-table-john-matthews?variant=548646...