33. Lady Mary: Our Woman in Constantinople

How did Algiers become a centre for revolutionaries from around the world in the 1960s? What happened to the “pied noirs” white settlers after Algeria gained independence? Who was Frantz Fanon, and why did he end up in Algeria where he was inspired to write Wretched of The Earth? ...  Show more

How did the French use systemic torture during the Battle of Algiers? Which army generals plotted to overthrow the French president? Why did the bloody birth of an independent Algeria herald further trouble to come? In the fourth episode of this series, William and Anita explore ...  Show more

This is the story of the incredible rise and fall of Mary, Queen of Scots. She was queen of Scotland, she was queen of France, and she could have been queen of England. She led armies, lived as a fugitive, became embroiled in love affairs and spent nearly two decades in jail.< ...

Jo Willett tells the story of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who pioneered smallpox inoculation almost a century before Edward Jenner   Mary Wortley Montagu is one of the most important figures in the battle to combat smallpox, so why is this 18th-century aristocrat so little-known t ...  Show more

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was brought up to believe that it was her face that was her fortune, and her place to be simply decorative. However, her uncommon intelligence, influence among the powerful, and her willingness to accept new ideas about medicine would save lives, help en ...  Show more

The worldwide eradication of smallpox was not Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's only claim to fame; she discarded the life she knew and set out to remake herself, acquiring a reputation for eccentricity, adventures worthy of a modern motion picture, and unwanted literary superstardom. ...  Show more