If It Ain't Baroque...

Heather R Darsie is back on the podcast, this time with her brand new book Stuart Spouses: A Compendium of Consorts from James I of Scotland to Queen Anne of Great Britain, published by Pen & Sword . Who were the Consorts, supporting Scottish monarchs, from 15th to 18th century? Why did Mary Queen of Scots have three of them? Who was Mary of Guelders and why does this duchy keep coming up when...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! Today we present to you our interview with Richard Wallace, who has recently written a book for The History Press , titled ‘The King’s Loot: The Greatest Royal Jewellery Heist in History',  What did Edward VIII inherit when his father died? Why was Queen Mary called a Royal Magpie? How did Queen Victoria change the history of Royal Jewellery f...

Andrea Zuvich a.k.a. The 17th Century Lady is back on the podcast, and today we’re discussing her latest book - Ravenous: A Life of Barbara Villiers, Charles II’s Most Infamous Mistress. And what a life!  Welcome back, Andrea! Barbara Villiers is known for being a mistress to Charles II, and a cousin to George, the Second Duke of Buckingham. Did you know she may have had a child with John, th...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! Chris Riley is back on the podcast, with a four-part mini series on the Norman Conquest and the year 1066.  This is the final one. And today we’ll be talking about the Legacy of the year 1066 and the Battle of Hastings. Why does it matter, almost a thousand years later, that the Saxons were defeated by the Normans? What did William do after be...

The historian Chris Riley, is back on the podcast, to talk about all things 1066: The Norman Conquest. This is the third of these episodes, and today we’re talking about the Battle of Hastings itself, the anniversary of which is today! You can find Chris on @chrisrileyhistory on IG Our favourite books on The Norman Conquest: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/405905/the-norman-conquest-by-marc-morris...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! Let me introduce today’s guest Michèle Schindler, and we’ll be talking about a forgotten matriarch from the Wars fo the Roses - Alice Chaucer, who was Geoffrey Chaucer’s grandchild. Get Michèle's book here: https://www.amberley-books.com/what-is-better-than-a-good-woman.html For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroque.art/ and...

The historian Chris Riley, is back on the podcast, to talk about all things 1066: The Norman Conquest. This is the second of these episodes, and today we’re talking about the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the anniversary of which is today! Why was this a fight few remember, instead always focussing on the Battle of Hastings? Why was Stamford Bridge important? You can find Chris on @chrisrileyhistory...

The historian Chris Riley, is back on the podcast, to talk about all things 1066: The Norman Conquest. In this, the first of the four episodes in this mini series, we talk about the pre-cursors of the famous year and why is it so significant in retrospect. Why was England such a prize? Who wanted the throne of England? You can find Chris on @chrisrileyhistory on IG and  linktr.ee/pastandprese...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! It is our great pleasure to announce our next guest, the legendary Dan Jones. We’re going to talk about his new book - Henry V and the life and times of this great warrior king.  How did Henry survive being struck with an arrow in his face, when most would perish from such a wound? What lessons of kingship did Henry learn from Richard II and H...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! Today our guest is Brigitte Webster, and she’s going to tell us all about her book, published with Pen & Sword. She will tell us about the Tudors’ relationship with their food: what they ate, what they drank, and how it is different from our attitude towards food today. Brigitte lives in a 16th century house, which she is in the process of rest...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! I am delighted to introduce today’s guest, Rebecca Rideal and we’re going to talk about her book '1666: Plague, War and Hellfire', which is particularly relevant due to the recent anniversary of the Great Fire of London. Let's dive into the history of the mid-1660's and see not only why The Plague, The War and the Fire happened, but also what was l...

This is the final in our trilogy of episodes regarding the great battle of  Bannockburn, which happened in June 1314, when the might of England could not defeat the Scottish army.  This is one of the most famous battles in Scottish history. In our previous episodes we spoke of the leaders of the opposing armies, as well as of the battle itself, in all its glory. This time we’re talking a...

Today is our 1 year anniversary, we published our very first episode exactly a year ago! Also, this is our 70th episode! Another milestone. It is our absolute honour to introduce today’s guest, Dr Elizabeth Norton.  She is a renowned historian, she has published many books on the Tudors, and recently she was the historical consultant for the new film ‘Firebrand’, which launches in the UK next...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! Today I am delighted to present to you our interview with Anne Sebba, the author of That Woman: Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor - the first biography of the infamous duchess that was written by ...a woman. Wallis Simpson was the American divorcée for whom Edward VIII had abdicated his throne in 1936. Let’s explore the common misconceptions a...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! Today we have a historian and podcaster Jackson van Uden of the 'History with Jackson' fame as our guest. We’ll be talking all things Bosworth. Find Jackson here: https://historywithjackson.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/historywithjackson/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxXh8pNeS7gdE377kgrNOIw Dictators by Jackson van Uden : https://shorturl.a...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! The historian Carol Ann Lloyd is back on the podcast to talk about her new book ‘Courting the Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I and Her Suitors’.  We examine Elizabeth’s Historical Hinge choices, and see why she swiped left…on almost all of them.  The new book is released by Pen & Sword Publishing. Find Carol Ann here: https://www.carolannllo...

Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well! Welcome to If It Ain't Baroque... your independent history podcast. As a special treat, today we have an episode about a new musical called ‘Wallis’, currently performing to high acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It tells us a story of a famous royal pair - Wallis Simpson and the soon-to-be-abdicated Edward VIII. Joining us today are t...

Today we present to you our interview with Robin Eagles, who has recently written a book for Amberley Publishing, titled "Champion of English Freedom: The Life of John Wilkes, M.P. and Lord Mayor of London".  John Wilkes was a very important figure in 18th century politics, and within the same lifetime he managed to be a Member of the British Parliament, a supporter of the revolutionaries in...

We're absolutely delighted to have a chat with historian Dr Joanne Paul. She has written one of the best history books of the last few years - called The House of Dudley , which tells us the story of this family and their connection to the crown in the 16th century England. Dr Joanne Paul was also the historical advisor on the brilliant Amazon Prime show My Lady Jane (2024), which we’re going to b...

This is the second in our trilogy of episodes regarding the great battle of  Bannockburn, which happened in June 1314, when the might of England could not defeat the Scottish rebels. This is one of the most famous battles in Scottish history. In our previous episode we spoke of the leaders of the opposing armies - Robert the Bruce and Edward II. You may also remember these kings from the 2018...

We have a great guest with us today, author Jessica Cox, who has written a book called Confinement, which tells us about all the difficulties faced by pregnant women back in Victorian times.  Would your child come out of the navel? What were the mortality rates? Was there any child support in Britain at the time? And how did the most important woman in the land deal with her own countless pre...

The historian Chris Riley, is back on the podcast, to talk about his favourite historical person, and that is of course, Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Now, She’s famous for being a badass queen of England in the 12th century, and being the mother of both Richard the Lionheart, as well as King John.  She’s also known for her court of love and chivalry. She had influence on the arts, politics and...

Today we talk to historian Heather R Darsie about Anna von der Mark; or as she’s usually called - Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife, the one who was dumped because she was so unattractive. Well, forget everything you thought you knew about her.  You’re about to go on a crash course on everything to do with Anna of Cleves. Fasten your proverbial seatbelts, there will be a LOT of myth-bu...

The historian Carol Ann Lloyd is back on the podcast to talk about her book ‘Tudors by Numbers: The Stories and Statistics Behind England's Most Infamous Royal Dynasty’, released by Pen & Sword Publishing. Yes, we all know the SIX wives... But do we know the total number of Tudor monarchs? Why does that vary? How many components did it take to make the famous Tudor logo? And do the numbers 007...

Today we celebrate the recent anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, which happened on the 23d-24th of June 1314, when the might of England's army could not crush the Scottish rebels. Thus Scotland won, under the command of Robert the Bruce, and Edward II of England suffered a major defeat. This is one of the most famous battles in Scottish history. (As a side note, both Robert the Bruce and Ed...