The Arsenic Wife (Part 1)

When Josphine failed to produce heirs, Napoleon secured a divorce and arranged for another marriage: to the 18-year-old daughter of the Emperor of Austria. Young Marie-Louise arrived in Paris and, to her surprise, found herself enchanted by her new husband. But Napoleon's Empire ...  Show more

When Ian Fleming needed a name for the secret agent at the center of his new novel, he stole one from the cover of a birdwatching book. The real James Bond wasn’t a martini-drinking spy, but a shy American ornithologist who spent decades exploring the Caribbean. Then one surreal ...  Show more

Henri VIII se détourne de Catherine d'Aragon, la mère de Marie Tudor, car elle est incapable de lui donner un fils. Il tente par tous les moyens de faire annuler leur mariage. Marie devient alors une paria.

"Secrets d'Histoire" est un podcast d'Initial Studio, adapté ...

In a programme first broadcast in November 2018, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Austrian princess Maria Antonia, child bride of the future French King Louis XVI. Their marriage was an attempt to bring about a major change in the balance of power in Europe and to undermine th ...  Show more

It's 1985 and Princess Margaret is at an all-time low. She's lonely, her health is failing, and she loses her status as Councillor of State when Prince Edward turns 21. At her lowest point, Margaret discovers a terrible family secret that two of her first cousins who she believed ...  Show more

This month World Book Club visits Paris, France to be guests of the iconic bookshop on the Left Bank of the River Seine, Shakespeare & Co. There Harriett Gilbert and a bookshop audience talk to acclaimed French writer Marie Darrieussecq about her extraordinary novel Pig Tales.Pig ...  Show more