In the late 19th and early 20th century, glamorous, exciting and often very wealthy American women mingled with the British aristocracy and set the gossip pages alight with rumours of engagements. But alongside this fascination, anti-American sentiment and xenophobia saw them dismissed them as mere ‘dollar princesses’ trading cash for coronets.
This label ... Show More
Yesterday
Hidden lives: slavery in Roman Britain
In this episode, we explore how a simple piece of Roman pottery - a red Samian bowl - can reveal the hidden lives of people living in Britain nearly 2,000 years ago. Found at Corbridge Roman Town, this artifact features a unique bit of ancient graffiti translating to "Nico slave ... Show More
28m 39s
Sep 10
The sights, sounds and smells of a Roman fort
Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall is Britain's most complete Roman fort. From the remains of its buildings, we can get a good idea of what it looked like. But how did the bathhouse smell? Or, perhaps more importantly, what about the latrines? What did the food taste like? ... Show More
51m 6s
Nov 2023
Dollar Princesses
In the late 1800s, American industrialists were raking in cash and living like princes, but they had no way, other than their mansions, servants and yachts, of making it clear that they were better than everyone else. Meanwhile, across the pond, the British aristocracy had come o ... Show More
30m 26s
Aug 2025
The Mitford Sisters
Rarely out of the papers during their lifetimes, and still figures of fascination in modern media, the six Mitford sisters have become notorious. From a shared, if eccentric childhood, the sisters grew into very different women. As adults, they inhabited diverse worlds, from the ... Show More
52m 34s