Rogues Gallery Uncovered

Putting the "Verse" into "Perverse" with Russia's rudest 18th century poet - Ivan Barkov. This may be a shorter episode than usual but it's packed with literary smut. It's a tale of excessive drinking, wordsmithery, and an irresistible joy in causing outrage and offence. He's a giant of Russian literature, but you may never have heard of him. What was found...

If it's new, different or foreign - he hates it! Get whipped up into an outraged frenzy with the 19th century's most reactionary politician -  Charles De Laet Waldo Sibthorp. It's a blustering tale of outrage, offence, & old fashioned values. What was so offensive about trains? How did Sibthorp manage to infuriate Queen Victoria? Why did he rush from a brothel to the House of Co...

Have a ringside seat as two 18th century gentlemen hack each other to pieces over an argument. It's a savagely violent tale of bombast, bloodletting and brutality as obnoxious aristocratic duellist Charles Mohun, Baron Mohun picks fights with anyone who gets in his way. But has he bitten off more than he can stab? Pistols or swords- which is his favourite? Was it always a duel to the death? D...

Meet Mae West, the Hollywood icon who invented sex, at the beginning of her scandalous career It’s a shocking tale of prostitution, playwrighting, prize-fighters and jazz.   What did all the boys shout when she was on stage? Why was she arrested? How bad were the reviews of her play “Sex”? Did she care? How many orgasms did she give a lover in one night? Find out in episode 19 of Rogues Gallery Un...

It's Flogging, Fustigation and Fun & Games with Regency London's most successful dominatrix (and BDSM pioneer) Teressa Berkley.  Visit her specially appointed salon in the heart of the city, pay at the door and bend over as we explore 19th century England's fascination with "six of the best."  Did "Flogging Houses"  have royal clients?  (of course, they did) ...

Charming the dames, killing the opposition and taking care of business with the 1930s most glamorous gangster - "Bugsy" Siegel. Its a tale of Hollywood extravagance, contract killing, high society and the birth of Las Vegas. What happened when "Bugsy" caught someone cheating at cards? What did he try to sell Benito Mussolini? Why was his girlfriend so popular? Who was the only...

Join Gustave Flaubert, the self-pleasuring French literary giant as he explores the delights and diseases of the mysterious East.  It's a grubby tale of 19th-century sex tourism, habitual masturbation, Realism, writer's block and VD. Why couldn't Flaubert leave himself alone? What happened when he visited a bathhouse? Were the contents of his letters home explicit? Did he write Mada...

Meet  "Mad" Jack Mytton, the port loving, dogfighting, bare-knuckle boxing, speed racing Regency gentleman who spent £20 million doing what the hell he liked. It's a tale of biblical drinking, nudity and a total disregard for personal safety. How many bottles did he get through every day? How did his pet monkey die? Why did he set himself on fire? All the answers can be found in epi...

Its "Danger High Voltage" with the 18th century's most tech-savvy sex expert - Dr James Graham. Visit the 'Temple of Health' Georgian London’s most fashionable wellness spa and marvel at the scientific wonders of magnetism and electrotherapy.  Forget about the controversy, this eminent Scottish Physician will restore your sexual health...for a price.  Shocking!!!  How did...

Extreme violence, senseless butchery, tactical vomiting and poetry. It's hard-drinking, hard rhyming, easily offended Viking warrior heartthrob Egill Skallagrimsson. How many men did he kill in combat? How much ale did he drink in one session? Why did he take an axe to a football match? How much of this is true?  It's one of the most famous Icelandic sagas with all the Norse mythology, h...

What a way to go! It was one of the most famous scandals of Belle Époque France involving the famous courtesan Marguerite Steinheil and the president Félix Faure.  French society was shocked and the legal dramas of the infamous trial became notorious around the world.  Did the French president die while having a "sex act" performed on him by his mistress? Did that mistress then go on to...

Marvel at the jaw-dropping cruelty and mean-spiritedness of the 18th century's most unpleasant millionaire...James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale.   It's a grim tale of bullying, duelling and irresponsible horse riding. Was he a corrupt British Politician? ( what do you think?) Was he an eccentric British aristocrat? (Of course)  Did he cheat the poet, William Wordsworth? (Sort of) What h...

Splashing out on the finer things in life with the 19th century's most extravagant courtesan and the toast of French society - Cora Pearl.  It's a whirlwind of sex, parties, fireworks, horses and expensive gifts as Cora's charms entrance the nobility of Belle Époque Paris. What did she serve up at her most memorable dinner party? Why did scandal follow her everywhere? What happened...

He's an Italian poet, a playwright, a novelist, an aviator, a World War 1 hero and a decadent politician.  He's 1900’s bald renaissance man Gabriele D'Annunzio and he claims to have seduced over 1000 women. How were his good looks described by actress Sarah Bernhardt? What was his relationship with portly rabble rouser Benito Mussolini? What did writer Earnest Hemmingway think of hi...

It's boiled potatoes, bonking and buboes when Elizabethan England's randiest doctor makes his codpiece bursting house calls. Join 16th century astrologer, physician, occultist and lothario, Dr Simon Forman as he studies the stars, cures the plague and makes up a new word for fornication. If your horoscope says today, you'll hear a podcast about Elizabethan medicine and scandalous Tu...

You're imperiously invited to a night out at the greatest party palace the world has ever seen - The Domus Aurea or "Golden House." Hosted by fiddle playing* narcissist Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus - better known as Emperor Nero in an  orgy of first century ancient roman extravagance. Bring your own dormice and vomiting bowl and leave your inhibitions at the door. Did Nero re...

It's 1847 and Europe’s most exciting woman has just seduced a king and started a revolution.  Join 19th-century dancer, actress, courtesan and adventuress, Lola Montez as she scandalises Bavaria, horrifies London and terrifies Ludwig I. How did a whip-wielding exotic dancer become a controversial star on the London stage? Why did she pretend to be Spanish? What happened when she took her scan...

He's responsible for some of the most famous diaries in history, but some pages were written using a secret code. Take a carriage ride through 17th century, England - just after The Great Fire of London - to find out why and uncover the seedy secrets of Samual Pepys.  It’s a  Restoration romp of lechery, scheming and habitual masturbation.  How did Pepys the scientist rival Issac Newton using...

Join Adam the Leper,  14th century England's most diseased criminal, as he robs whole towns, beats up civil servants and really annoys the King. It's a bubo bursting tale of medieval true crime and brazen thievery. How did Adam offend Philippa of Hainault? How did he anger Edward III? Was burning your house down a sign that Adam liked you? Who on earth was Richard of Pudlicott? Believe i...

Join legendary actor and bon viveur John Barrymore as he drinks his way through the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Its a boozy tale of Hollywood, Broadway, a golden age and fearsome theatrical talent. Why was he called 'The Great Profile? ( Hint, it was because he had a great profile) Was he related to Drew Barrymore ( Yes, he was her grandfather) Was he Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde? ( Both)  Did...

How did eighteenth-century England's most desirable celebrity, become so successful she could literally afford to eat money? With Fanny Murray  It’s a scandalous tale of how a notorious courtesan in Georgian London transformed herself into a sex symbol and fashion icon. What were her connections to The Hellfire Club Why did ‘Beau’ Nash love potatoes? Was she really “Fine but dirty”? Did she e...

Seventeenth century London’s most outrageous drinking session gets blasphemously out of hand. With Restoration, wit, dramatist, poet and libertine, Sir Charles Sedley.  How did the scandalous behaviour of one bawdy playwright change English Law? Who were ‘The Ballers”? Which other rakish aristocrats made up ‘The Merrie Gang’ What filthy thing did he say about King Charles II that could have caused...

 Welcome to Rogues Gallery Uncovered. Libertines, Lotharios and Complete B******s.  True stories of history's most badly behaved men and women. Join bawdy historian Simon Talbot as he uncovers the disreputable lives and fascinating times of a new historical rogue every week. You'll laugh, you'll learn, you might develop an urge to get drunk and wear period costume. For more roguish...