If It Ain't Baroque...

Today we sit down with Dr Ruth Larsen to talk about her book - co-authored with the late Anthony Fletcher - MISTRESS: A HISTORY OF WOMEN AND THEIR COUNTRY HOUSES, published by Yale University Press London . What was the role of the lady of the house? What did she have to deal with on a daily basis? Let's look at what was the same and different for those in charge of the country houses, across four...

Let’s welcome back Amy McElroy, to talk about Desiderius Erasmus, one of the most influential men of Renaissance. Find Amy's biography of him with Pen & Sword . Find Amy : https://amymcelroy.blog/ Get Erasmus: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Desiderius-Erasmus-The-Folly-or-Far-Sightedness-of-Renaissance-Europes-Greatest-Mind-Hardback/p/57477/aid/1238 Get Mary Tudor, Queen of France : https://w...

Please welcome to the podcast Russell Shorto, as we discuss his latest book Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events that Created New York and Shaped America - published with Swift Press in the UK and W W Norton and Co. in the USA. If you have ever wondered why is New York called New York, and what has Amsterdam to do with it, this is the book for you. Let's dive deep into the Transatlantic mach...

Please welcome back Dr Thomas W Smith and we’re going to talk about the links between the popes and crusades, particularly Honorius III and the recovery of the Holy Land in the 13th century. Subscribe for all the drama! The book is published with Brepols . Welcome back, Tom! Find Tom: https://thomaswsmith.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/medieval_tom/ https://linktr.ee/twsmith The Fifth Crusade :...

As William Shakespeare is once more in the spotlight at the Oscars, let's revisit how he became a stable of literary curriculum. Did you know it wasn't always in the stars that Shakespeare's work would enjoy the fame that it does today? Did you know that there was a Shakespeare Ladies Club in Georgian Britain that helped resurrect his work from being the proverbial footnote in history? Let's find...

Let's talk of Richard of Cornwall , the younger brother to Henry III, the other son of King John. Richard was the only Englishman to be crowned King of the Germans. How did that come about? Let's find out more. Darren Baker's book - published by Amberley - has it all. Welcome back, Darren! Darren's Books : Get Richard of Cornwall: https://www.amberley-books.com/richard-of-cornwall.html Henry III,...

Dear listener, today we present to you our chat with PETER JAMES BOWMAN, the author of First Celebrities , published with Amberley .  When did the cult of celebrity start? Why is it important to differentiate between fame and celebrity? Let's dive into five Georgian superstars and find out the secrets of their infamy... Welcome, Peter James! The First Celebrities https://www.amberley-books.co...

Please welcome historian Claire Hobson , and today we're talking about her latest book - published with Pen & Sword - about Charles II of Great Britain . Let's find out what Charles' childhood was like, what was his relationship with his parents, and how did the civil war and its losses impact him? Tune in and find out more... Welcome, Claire! Get Charles II: From The Cradle to the Crown : htt...

Let's talk the Orkney Saga, Orkney Earls and just Orkney history in general. For those who don't know, The Orkneys are the northermost islands in Scotland, bar Shetlands. Please welcome Judith Jesch , who has recently written a book with Birlinn Publishing on The Saga of the Earls of Orkney . Welcome, Judith! Get The Saga : https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-saga-of-the-earls-of-orkney/ Get Women i...

Let's dive deep into the beginnings of the Civil War of the 17th century. With us today is Jonathan Healey, whose book The Blood in Winter: England on the Brink of the Civil War 1642 has just come out in paperback. It is published by Bloomsbury in the UK and Penguin Random House in the USA. Welcome, Jonathan! Get Blood in the Snow : https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/blood-in-winter-9781526672346/ (UK)...

Today we're talking to Helen Strudwick , the curator at the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge. She has helped hone their latest exhibition Made in Ancient Egypt . Let's find out more...   Find Fitzwilliam Museum : https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/ Get to the Exhibition: https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/exhibitions/made-in-ancient-egypt Meet Helen : https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/about-us/...

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...

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...