Historian Natalie Livingstone chronicles the unexplored lives of the women who shaped the famous Rothschild banking dynasty. She speaks to Elinor Evans about how – though often excluded in a patriarchal society – they forged their own paths, from influential hostesses to pioneering scientists.
(Ad) Natalie Livingstone is the author of The Women of Rothschi ... Show More
Yesterday
Captured by Barbary corsairs: an Englishwoman's extraordinary tale
In 1756, Elizabeth Marsh set sail from Gibraltar to Britain with the intention of meeting her fiancé. Instead, she was captured by Barbary corsairs – effectively pirates operating from north Africa, carrying off their victims into slavery – and taken to a Moroccan prince. But cou ... Show More
33m 22s
Yesterday
Was Elizabeth I's reign really a 'golden age'?
As Elizabeth I entered the final chapter of her reign, questions of ageing, succession, and legacy loomed large. In this final episode of our four-part Sunday Series on the Tudor monarch, Rachel Dinning is joined by historian Nicola Tallis to explore the queen’s later years, her ... Show More
28m 57s
Mar 27
Spy, hero, rebel, traitor: the story of Roger Casement
Rory Carroll unpacks the dramatic final years of Roger Casement – an Irish diplomat and nationalist whose tangled legacy includes heroism, betrayal, and personal scandal. Carroll tells Elinor Evans about how Casement's support of Irish Home Rule in the early 20th century morphed ... Show More
40m 40s
Feb 2023
Medieval Leaders and Queens: Aethelfled, Hildegard & Jadwiga.
<p>Aethelfled, a warrior queen who crushed the Vikings, Jadwiga, the first Queen Regent of Poland and Hildegard of Bingen, an 11th-century polymath abbess who became a 20th-century feminist icon and saint. Art and cultural historian Dr Janina Ramirez joins Dan on today's episode ... Show More
36m 47s
Aug 2023
Queen Guinevere & The Women of Arthurian Legend
Queen Guinevere, Morgan le Fey and Nimue, the mystical lady of the lake have been cast as heroins, virtuous women and wicked femme fatals by the many people who have retold the legend of King Arthur over 1500 years. I'll sketch the highlights of the story, galloping past the oft ... Show More
31m 17s
Jul 2024
Domina: Women Who Shaped Rome
<p>The crisis of the Roman Republic is a period littered with iconic male power players. Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Pompey, Brutus and the Gracchi brothers. But less famous, and often overlooked are the women that shaped these famous Roman states<em>men</em>.</p><br><p>In today' ... Show More
51m 42s
May 2024
Henry VIII's Mother & Grandmothers
Henry VIII’s is infamous for his relationships with women. The domineering King took 6 wives during his 36 years on the throne. And he disposed of them with as much scandal as he wooed them – Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. But three other women had an imp ... Show More
28m 28s