The Rest Is History

542. Elizabeth I’s Sorcerer: Angels and Demons in Renaissance Europe

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Tudor England, during the reign of Elizabeth I, there lived in the very heart of her court a magician, alchemist and polymath, bent upon conversing...

541. Heart of Darkness: Fear and Loathing in the Congo

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“The horror! The horror!” Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ - the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's ‘Apocalypse Now’ - is one of...

540. Horror in the Congo: A Conspiracy Unmasked (Part 3)

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Exposing the dark pit of human suffering, cruelty and corruption that had long been secretly festering in King Leopold’s Congo, would reveal one of ...

539. Horror in the Congo: The Crimes of Empire (Part 2)

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“A secret society of murderers with a king for a ringleader”. In 1885 King Leopold of Belgium; an awkward, ruthless, selfish man, was recognised ...

538. Horror in the Congo: The Nightmare Begins (Part 1)

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The story of King Leopold of Belgium’s brutal regime in the Congo Free State, during the late 19th century, is one of the darkest and most important...

537. Emperors of Rome: Claudius, Paranoia and Poison (Part 4)

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following the bloody assassination of the twenty-eight year old Emperor Caligula, Rome found herself without a leader. Who then should fill the enormo...

536. Emperors of Rome: Caligula, Incest and Insanity (Part 3)

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Enough of the Princeps, what remains to be described, is the monster..." The Roman emperor Caligula endures as one of the most notorious figures in ...

535. Emperors of Rome: Tiberius, Slaughter and Scandal (Part 2)

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Roman historian Suetonius’ biography of the controversial Emperor Tiberius is one of his most shocking and salacious, condemning Tiberius to inf...

534. Emperors of Rome: Sex Secrets of the Caesars (Part 1)

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Roman historian Suetonius’ The Lives of the Caesars, written during the early imperial period of the Roman Empire, is a seminal biography coveri...

Russian Spies, Pigeons, and The Rest Is Classified…

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How did a Russian spy manage to infiltrate the upper echelons of London and New York society? Was Anna Chapman really an old fashioned Russian honeytr...

533. Wojtek: The Bear Who Beat the Nazis

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Wojtek - the bear who took on the Nazis - amidst the death and devastation of the Second World War, and more specifically Poland's heroic...

532. Hitler's War on Poland: The Fall of Warsaw (Part 3)

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Nazi invasion of Poland is one of the most harrowing episodes of the Second World War, which saw terrible scenes of abuse take place. Though long ...

531. Hitler's War on Poland: The Pact with Stalin (Part 2)

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By the 11th of April 1939, Adolf Hitler and his Nazis were in the process of drawing up a plan of attack for Poland, the Poles having resisted Germany...

530. Hitler’s War on Poland: Countdown to Armageddon (Part 1)

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following the Munich agreement of September 1938, Nazi troops marched into Czechoslovakia and ruthlessly claimed it as a German protectorate. Still, e...

529. The Nazis' Road to War: Showdown in Munich (Part 2)

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 17th September 1938, in Munich, one of the most extraordinary meetings in history took place. Neville Chamberlain launched an extraordinary and unp...

528. The Nazis' Road to War: Hitler Prepares to Strike (Part 1)

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout the course of the 1930s, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party has overwhelmingly, terrifyingly seized power in Germany. Now, Hitler’s vile ambitio...

527. Beethoven: Napoleon and the Music of War LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ludwig Van Beethoven, like his precursor and possible acquaintance Mozart, is one of the most famous figures in Western musical history. With his wild...

526. Mozart: History's Greatest Prodigy LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1756 a musical prodigy was born in Salzburg, Austria: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Thanks to the efforts of his exacting father, Mozart's genius was e...

525. Charlemagne: Emperor of the West (Part 3)

25 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“And from that moment on, he was addressed as emperor and Augustus!” The coronation of Charlemagne on Christmas Day 800 AD, is one of the landmar...

524. Charlemagne: Pagan Killer (Part 2)

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Here was a program to wet the ambitions of warlords as well as scholars, and to send men into battle beneath the fluttering of banners, the hiss of...

523. Charlemagne: Return of the Kings (Part 1)

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Frankish king, Charlemagne the Great, is one of the titanic figures of European history, simultaneously renowned and shadowy. His rise to supreme ...

522. Warlords of the West: A Clash of Ice and Fire (Part 3)

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By 711 Europe and the Frankish warlords were facing a graver threat than ever before. Bands of Northern African, nominally Muslim raiders had begun a ...

521. Warlords of the West: Killer Queens (Part 2)

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Following the death of the legendary Frankish King Clovis, his son Clothar I divided the mighty realm his father had hacked out from the warring warlo...

520. Warlords of the West: Barbarian Heirs of Rome (Part 1)

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Rise of the Franks - a mighty host of warlords; forefathers of the western world and forgers of medieval civilisation, under the totemic leadershi...

519. The World's First City

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In as early as 5000 BC the vast and spectacular city of Uruk - replete with towering walls, glistening temples and complex irrigation systems - lay sp...

518. Nelson: The Battle of the Nile (Part 5)

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The 1st of August 1798 saw the British fleet sailing towards Alexandria into a land of classical history and mythology, the sun setting like blood ove...

517. Nelson: The Hunt for Napoleon (Part 4)

28 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797, Horatio Nelson, though a much acclaimed public hero for his bravery during the battle, is in th...

516. Nelson: God of War (Part 3)

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Valentine’s day, 1797: the British Royal Navy are hoping for a decisive clash with the Spanish enemy, off the coast of Portugal, at Cape St. Vincent...

515. Nelson: Attack the French! (Part 2)

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It is 1793 and France has declared war on Britain, meaning that the British navy must serve as both sword and shield to Europe. Horatio Nelson is at t...

514. Nelson: Hero of the Seas (Part 1)

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s 1758 and Britain’s greatest naval commander has just been born. The young Horatio Nelson has inherited his father’s love of god and his mot...

513. America in '68: Nixon's Great Comeback (Part 6)

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Nixon now! Nixon now! More than ever we need Nixon now!” It's the 5th of November 1968, and Richard M. Nixon is on tenterhooks, alone in his dark...

512. America in '68: The Chicago Riots (Part 5)

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Democratic National Convention is in Chicago, and the incumbent president, Lyndon B. Johnson, has pulled out of the race. Anti-war protestors are ...

511. America in '68: George Wallace, The First Donald Trump (Part 4)

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” George Wallace, Governor of Alabama, was one of the most successful third-party pre...

510. America in '68: The Killing of Robert Kennedy (Part 3)

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violen...

509. America in '68: The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Part 2)

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The peaceful figurehead of the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s, Dr Martin Luther King had inspired hundreds of thousands to demand equal righ...

508. America in '68: Nightmare in Vietnam (Part 1)

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"Tonight I want to speak to you of peace in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.” On the night of Sunday, 31st of March 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson, af...

507. The French Revolution: The Marseillaise, Song of War (Part 5)

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Let us march! Let us march! May impure blood water our fields!” Written after the declaration of war against Austria in 1792, “La Marseillaise”...

506. The French Revolution: Massacre at the Palace (Part 4)

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The war between revolutionary France and the allied powers of Prussia and Austria has reached fever pitch, and in early August 1792, the latter party ...

505. The French Revolution: The Shadow of the Guillotine (Part 3)

20 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

During the "Ancien Regime", royal executioners held an unholy status, and would strike up fear in the crowds as they walked the streets of Paris. But ...

504. The French Revolution: War to the Death (Part 2)

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“You have shaken off the yoke of your despots, but surely this was not to bend the knee before a foreign tyrant…” It’s January 1792, and one o...

503. The French Revolution: Bloodbath in Paris (Part 1)

13 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Season 2 of The French Revolution! Revolutionary fervour threatens to engulf the streets of Paris, as demonstrators have gathered on the C...

502. The Roman Conquest of Britain: To the Ends of the Earth (Part 4)

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the aftermath of Boudicca’s uprising, the Romans felt they could not withdraw from the British Isles. They sent their most competent fighters and...

501. The Roman Conquest of Britain: Boudicca’s Reign of Blood (Part 3)

06 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Two cities were sacked, eighty thousand of the Romans and of their allies perished, and the island was lost to Rome. Moreover, all this ruin was br...

500. The Roman Conquest of Britain: The Empire Strikes Back (Part 2)

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Viewed as an idiot by those around him, Claudius felt the need to prove himself. In the century since Caesar had invaded Britain, the mythology surrou...

499. The Roman Conquest of Britain: Julius Caesar’s Invasion (Part 1)

29 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Julius Caesar saw the Britons as brutal savages. Yet the Romans romanticised their lack of civilisation, deeming them as untainted by Mediterranean lu...

498. Evita: The Mystery of the Missing Body (Part 5)

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After lying in state in an open casket, Evita’s corpse is taken down to a secret laboratory in the basement. And as the Argentinian Victor Frankenst...

497. Evita: Death of a Martyr (Part 4)

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The workaholic mother of a nation, Evita’s health deteriorates and she faints at a public event. A self-proclaimed martyr, she seems to be willing t...

496. Evita: The World's Most Powerful Woman (Part 3)

22 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“There is only one man who can lead any worker’s regime.” Together, Eva and Colonel Perón built a political movement powered by operatic rheto...

495. Evita: The Rise of General Perón (Part 2)

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An admirer of Hitler and Mussolini, Colonel Perón rose through the ranks during the 1943 military coup in Argentina. Following a disastrous earthquak...

494. Evita: Birth of a Legend (Part 1)

15 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Don’t cry for me Argentina, the truth is I never left you.” Few political figures have been both hailed as a saint and immortalised through a...

493. Lee Miller: Exposing the Horrors of World War Two

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s August 1944: the Liberation of Paris is underway, and France appears to slowly be extricating herself from Nazi control. But, on the French wes...

492. The War on Beards: From Peter the Great to John Lennon (Part 2)

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“I like an Englishman to look like an Englishman, and beards are foreign and breed vermin. Also depend upon it, they will lead to filthy habits.” ...

491. History's Greatest Beards: From Egyptian Queens to Medieval Conquerors (Part 1)

08 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What did Marcus Aurelius, Jesus, and Ragnar Lothbrok all have in common? Apart from their notorious and symbolic deaths, all three men boasted lusciou...

490. Hundred Years' War: England Triumphant (Part 4)

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

St Crispin’s day, 1415: Henry V stands victorious, after a tremendous defeat of the French forces at the Battle of Agincourt. He is just about to ma...

489. Hundred Years' War: Bloodbath at Agincourt (Part 3)

01 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”. The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 endures as perhaps the most totemic battle in the whole of English h...

488. Hundred Years' War: The Road to Agincourt (Part 2)

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On the 11th of August 1415, King Henry V of England - an austere, pious, thoughtful and terrifying warlord in only his late-twenties - set sail for Fr...

487. Hundred Years' War: Henry V’s Invasion of France (Part 1)

25 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends. Once more, we'll close the wall up with our English dead […] And upon this charge, cry God for Harry, En...

486. Henry IV: Warrior Princes and Fat Knights (Part 2)

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The year is 1403, and the Usurper King, Henry IV, faces a seemingly insurmountable challenge to his rule. He has been brought the news that his old fr...

485. Henry IV: The Usurper King (Part 1)

18 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown…” Henry IV has been portrayed as both a shadowy, obscure figure, and a strong king who was loved by his ...

484. The Food that Changed the World

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The unexpected evolution of Italian food can serve as a tantalising doorway into some of the greatest moments of Italian history: from medieval monarc...

483. The Mysterious Case of the Ape Man

11 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Sussex, in 1912, men quarrying in a gravel pit near Piltdown village turned up a human skull. According to Charles Dawson, a lawyer and amateur arc...

482. The French Revolution: The Royal Family Escapes (Part 8)

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Twelve months after the dramatic Women’s March on Versailles, the Revolution proper was well into its stride, and while Paris overflowed with a sens...

481. The French Revolution: The Women's March on Versailles (Part 7)

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By the summer of 1789 the different sections of the Revolution were at loggerheads, and the recently created National Assembly riven in two. Both fact...

480. The French Revolution: The Rights of Man (Part 6)

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Liberté, égalité, fraternité!” Alongside violence, the French Revolution is a story of principles and values. It is the ultimate intersect...

479. The French Revolution: The Storming of the Bastille (Part 5)

04 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“It was violence that made the revolution revolutionary”. The storming of the Bastille is viewed by many across the world as a moment of celebrat...

478. The French Revolution: Showdown in Versailles (Part 4)

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1788, a monstrous storm swept across France, wiping out the crucial wheat harvest. With the nation already in the throes of political...

477. The French Revolution: The Violence Begins (Part 3)

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With seismic antecedents such as the Glorious Revolution in England and the American War of Independence, what was it about the French Revolution that...

476. The French Revolution: The Diamond Necklace Scandal (Part 2)

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In August 1785 a shocking affair came to light which would prove so detrimental to the reputation and standing of the French King Louis XVI, and more ...

475. The French Revolution: Marie Antoinette (Part 1)

28 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The French Revolution is one of the great seismic events of global history. A devouring conflagration of bloodshed, violence and utopianism, it change...

474. The Road to The Great War: The Lights Go Out (Part 6)

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime” In the early days of August 1914, the British press has...

473. The Road to The Great War: The Tsar Chooses War (Part 5)

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“We have been forced to draw the sword”. Following the expiry of Austria’s Ultimatum on Saturday 25th July 1914, the Kaiser and the Tsar - frien...

472. The Road to The Great War: Britain's Fateful Choice (Part 4)

21 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On the 24th of July 1914, in London, the Liberal British Cabinet met to hear the Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, read them the Ultimatum handed to...

471. The Road to The Great War: The Austrian Ultimatum (Part 3)

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On the 20th of July 1914 the heads of state of two great European powers - France and Russia - met in St Petersburg. Little did they know, though they...

470. The Road to The Great War: The Kaiser’s Blank Cheque (Part 2)

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of the cataclysmic assassination of Franz Ferdinand on the 28th of June 1914, in Austria, the long percolating question of what to do abou...

469. The Road to The Great War: Countdown to Armageddon (Part 1)

14 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By the end of July 1914, the world hovered on the edge of a cataclysmic world war; Austria was at war with Serbia, Russia with Germany, and an ultimat...

468. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Crime (Part 4)

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Archduke Franz Ferdinand has arrived in Sarajevo for a military inspection, alongside his wife, Sophie, on the 28th of June 1914. Unbeknownst to them,...

467. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Victim (Part 3)

07 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, as heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was one of the most important men in the world. But he was a lonely man, not helped ...

466. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Conspiracy (Part 2)

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gavrilo Princip, having been sent to school in Sarajevo, has become mixed up with the wrong crowd, and is now entangled in a secret Serbian nationalis...

465. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Killer (Part 1)

30 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to one of the world’s greatest empires, in June 1914, set in motion a series of events that woul...

Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar (Extract)

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To coincide with the re-release of Dynasty in audiobook, now with Tom Holland himself narrating, we have the book’s introduction for you to enjoy.  ...

464. Modern British Elections (Part 2)

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the turn of the 20th century, election campaigns - though still replete with politicians behaving badly - have evolved. They have become less mas...

463. Mad Elections (Part 1)

23 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"Good God I am shot! I shall die!" The colourful kaleidoscope of British elections from 1265 to their early 20th century incarnation, has seen some of...

462. St George: Dragon-Slayer

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The image of Saint George astride his horse, sword and spear in hand, slaying a dragon, is one of the most iconic iconographical spectacles of all tim...

461. Dragons

16 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"When dragons flew to war… everything burned. I do not wish to rule over a kingdom of ash and bone." Dragons - the most compelling of mythical beast...

Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic (Extract)

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To coincide with the re-release of Rubicon in audiobook, now with Tom Holland himself narrating it, we have the book’s introduction for you to enjoy...

460. The Empress of the Apocalypse

12 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 972AD a princess of the Byzantine Empire was sent by her uncle, the Roman emperor in Constantinople, to marry the son of Otto the Great - Emperor o...

459. The Suit, Savile Row, and Smartly Dressed Men

09 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"His clothes seemed to melt into each other with the perfection of their cut and the quiet harmony of their colour. Without a single point of emphasis...

458. Helen of Troy: A Family of Blood (Part 2)

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1870 the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann - a man of remarkable energy, desperately fascinated with Helen of Troy - discovered in Turkey th...

457. Helen of Troy: Queen of the Greek Myths (Part 1)

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Helen of Troy, her remarkable birth and her infamous love affair with Paris, the Trojan prince, resounds across the centuries. A figure o...

456. Fall of the Sioux: The Massacre at Wounded Knee (Part 3)

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"I will bury my heart, at Wounded Knee" With Native American culture in free fall in the years following their triumph at the Battle of the Little Big...

455. Fall of the Sioux: The Ghost Dance (Part 2)

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Following the tragic death of Crazy Horse and the ruthless cessation of the Sioux way of life, the last of the great Native American leaders were grad...

454. Fall of the Sioux: Death of Crazy Horse (Part 1)

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Though the Battle of the Little Bighorn seemed for the triumphant Lakota and their allies - the largest gathering of Plains Indians ever assembled - a...

453. Custer's Last Stand: The Final Showdown (Part 8)

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What happened between the moment that George A. Custer dispatched a trumpeter with his famous final plea for back-up, and the gruesome discovery of hi...

452. Custer's Last Stand: The Battle of the Little Bighorn (Part 7)

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“You and I are going home today, and by a trail that is strange to us both…” The Battle of The Little Bighorn is one of the totemic moments of A...

451. Custer's Last Stand: The Charge of the 7th Cavalry (Part 6)

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. was cast into a spiralling panic following the economic depression of 1873, and waves of paramilitary violence swept through the south as the...

450. Custer's Last Stand: Death in the Black Hills (Part 5)

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of the barbaric Washita River massacre, George Custer found himself drifting; addicted to gambling, at odds with his wife, and failing in ...

449. Custer vs. Crazy Horse: Rise of Sitting Bull (Part 4)

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"What would you do if your home was attacked? You would stand up like a brave man and defend it. That is our story."  Following the bloody Fetterman ...

448. Custer vs. Crazy Horse: Horse-Lords of the Plains (Part 3)

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Of all the great characters entangled in the story of George A. Custer and the American Indian Wars, few are as captivating as Crazy Horse. A mighty ...

447. Custer vs. Crazy Horse: The Winning of the West (Part 2)

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With the American Civil War coming to a close in April 1865, George Custer, cavalry commander in the Union army, and a man of dubious political leanin...

446. Custer vs. Crazy Horse: Civil War (Part 1)

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Come on, you Wolverines!” The story of the American Indian Wars of 1862-68 is an enthralling tale of hubris, politics, recklessness, and the merc...