AGE OF VICTORIA PODCAST

Merry Christmas everyone. What a year, so lets round it off in comfort. This special episode features. Thank you’s. Quick chat about Victorian Christmas Cards Introducing Mrs Beeton, and the standardisation of recipes. Why running a household really was difficult. A valet or a butler? Hints of gender conflicts and the danger of left over Turkey. Order above all – Spit Spot. Mince pies,...

The journey into Empire continues as we look at Tasmania, known as Van Diemen’s Land. Here the European settlers, the indigenous people, the convict system, the bush rangers, the lure of food, the battle for land, resulted in war, conquest and genocide. The birth pang of a new world was one of agony, yet the future of a unique culture and the amazing beauty of the island were in stark contra...

The journey into Empire continues as we look more closely at the Australia’s, and the difficult issues of landownership, native rights, and how land can tie to identity. I also cover the culture clash between the Europeans and the Indigenous Peoples. This is part 2, which covers more of the background of Empire in the Australia’s, the First & Second Fleets, the impact of liberalism and t...

The journey into Empire continues as we look more closely at the Australia’s, and the difficult issues of landownership, native rights, and how land can tie to identity. I also cover the culture clash between the Europeans and the indigenous aborigines. This episode then breaks and in part 2, it will cover more of the background of Empire in the Australia’s, the impact of liberalism and the...

To understand the past, sometimes we need to examine our values and subject them to philosophical analysis. The British Empire was a complex, varied entity that stretched across the world and changed over the centuries. How do we understand the mindset of those people in the C19th who created it, or lived in it? This episode is designed to get you thinking and analysing big questions and unpleasan...

How does the Queen of Kingdom and ruler of the Empire choose a husband? This is not a choice to get wrong, so Victoria was under pressure. Was Albert the Romantic Prince and perfect companion of her dreams? Learn about the Prince, his childhood, his music, & his journey from shy intellectual to confident suitor to the Queen. This show covers Prince Alberts childhood & family scandals. The...

How was Victoria coping with being Queen? She was intelligent, stubborn, cultured, but sometimes misguided and blinkered. Worse, the nation itself seemed fractured, bitter, and in danger of collapse. Her first two years as monarch showed the need for her to have a partner. Someone who could share the load, act as a lightning rod and shield on shoulder, and make the transition from partisan Queen t...

EP030 3rd Anniversary Special: Victoria & Albert -a Royal and a Romantic. The podcast is 3 years old, so time for Victoria and Albert to become a couple. One of histories famous romances and two names that almost define the age. Yet it was a strange road that brought them together. In this show we look at Queen Victoria’s tricky love life, the problems of being a royal celebrity, meet so...

EP029 “The Court of King Cholera – the great Victorian plague” explores one of the most famous pandemics in history. There was horror, death, and a little hope. Many bad decisions, anger and mistrust, but also groundbreaking science. When disease strikes it is easy to think humanity is levelled and we all stand together – does history prove this is true? This show covers Re...

MINISODE 018 RAILWAY TIME is here to take a light hearted look at the social etiquette of train travel, and the small matter of how the trains revolutionised time. This show covers Reviews and thank you’s Railways; is this a polite way to travel? “I say, have we met?” The problems with the timetables. The Victorians control time itself. Follow the show on Facebook on our Facebook...

EP028 BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME? RAILWAY MANIA AND SOCIAL CHANGES is here to count the cost of progress. As railways make men staggeringly rich, people start to fly too close to the sun and get their wings singed. Or fall prey to predators, like George Hudson, the Railway King. This episode covers Reviews, thank you’s and some podcast recommendations Railways; bringing a potential bonanza...

Railways were one of the great achievements of the Victorian Era, but they are complicated and hard to build. This show covers the process and the people involved in building these incredible pieces of engineering. Pt 2 of this episode covers; The navigators; hard work for hard men. Drink hard, play hard, fight hard. The riots. Individual lives. The great railway tunnels. The miners – life a...

Railway building was a great achievement of the Victorian Age, but railways are complicated and hard to build. This show covers the process and the people involved in building these incredible pieces of engineering. Pt 1 of this episode covers; The kinds of labourer & builders. Surveying and risks to historic sites. Wordsworth and the Lake District. Acts of Parliament and politicians on the ta...

The railway is here. What a change Britain was about to see! A herald of a new age, and new way of life. Something new in human history. This episode covers; The English landscape and the train 1820-1840. Early trains & popular . Economic impacts. Canal and coach monopolies. Slum clearance & Agar Town. A riot in Basingstoke. Triumph of the railways. Follow the show on Facebook on our Faceb...

Bonus episode of The Age of Victoria & The Siècle! Learn about the differences between how France and Britain experienced the years after Waterloo in a conversation between your host Chris Fernandez-Packham and David Montgomery, host of the Siecle Podcast. We chat about the state of Britain and France after the battle of Waterloo, to around 1830. I really enjoyed this opportunity chat to a fel...

“Great things are done when men and mountains meet; This is not done by jostling in the street.” -William Blake Join me for this adventurous minisode. This show has Setting the scene; literature and the quest for adventure. How Victorian masculinity was shaped by adventure literature. How the mountains effect our minds An ordinary boy from Surrey gets a job oversea’s. The philosophy of...

Victorian Christmas Time!  Mistletoe and Wine; listening to Podcast time. This is a special episode for Christmas 2019. Learn about the hustle & bustle of the Victorian Christmas, with a focus on the games and entertainments. Find out how much effort people went to, then enjoy the bonus story on a special subject. This show has Victorian celebrations. The postal service. Games. Music &amp...

Forged in fire, the new era is born. The British unlock a new energy source and create the industrial revolution. Humanity around the world is transformed; no longer limited by our own muscles or the plodding of animals or the slow harnessing of wind and wave. Instead the British unleashed a revolution that allowed humanity to surpass all of its previous limit. Without this moment, nothing in the...

The time has come. Victoria must weather the final crisis on her way to the throne. Join me for an exciting conclusion to Victoria’s childhood where she finds out if she has iron in her soul. This show has Continuation of her teenage years. Relationships with King William IV. The state of the monarchy. Victoria’s desperate crisis. Ascending the throne. Coronation and triumph. Follow th...

PUB QUIZ. Time for you to grab a beer and a barstool like a good Victorian and have a go at testing your knowledge. Or if you have taken the pledge and joined the temperance movement, then get a cup of cocoa and join your friends for a civilised but fierce competition for the highest score. Make sure you have a pen and paper handy and you are ready to hit pause to give yourself time to answer. I&#...

Are you eager for reform? What to change the establish? Shake up the old order? Surely the time has come to join the Whig party then? This show covers the Whigs in the 1820’s & 1830’s and the land mark Great Reform Act 1832. British politics was changing rapidly and Victoria was at the cusp of the Throne. The struggles of the Whigs would help determine the political establishment f...

Are you confused about your Lords & Dukes? Want to know why the Baron is always popping up? Wondering just what is the Duchy of Lancaster and why its so important? Want to know your Earls from your Marchioness’s? Worried about who gets to get to lead the dinner party when an Earl & a Prince pop over? This minisode covers The orders & rankings of the nobility & peerage The rol...

This episode on the Tories & the Battle for Catholic Emancipation continue our breakdown of the complex political system in the 1820’s & 1830’s to show you how it all fits together. If you want to know about the reasons why the British struggled with Catholics, and why the Tories always seemed to be fighting against reform, then this is the episode for you. This episode covers...

Politics 101 is here. Every wondered if the Queen of England has any real power? Confused by your MP’s, PM’s and Lords Spiritual? Wondering how it all works in the UK if the Constitution isn’t written down? Unsure if Queen Victoria could just give out the orders? Today’s show breaks down the complex political system in the 1820’s & 1830’s to show you how it...

What makes a master criminal? That type of person who goes beyond the normal petty crime or brute violence. Charles Peace was one of the most notorious criminals in the Victorian age, but why? He didn’t kill many people, or steal the crown jewels, or overthrow a government. He had that special star quality the newspapers loved though. He was a master of disguise, constantly escaped the polic...