The dark side of Dickens

From thrall to king; from pagan to Christian: Olaf Tryggvason was one of the titanic figures of the Viking Age, whose story straddles the line between fantasy and fiction. Speaking to James Osborne about his life for this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, Don Hollway steps bac ...  Show more

What do we really know about Adolf Hitler’s death? In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, historian and author Caroline Sharples tells Charlotte Vosper about the reporting that surrounded Hitler's final days in April 1945, the subsequent discoveries of biological evidence, ...  Show more

Charles Dickens is considered one of the greatest novelists of the Victorian Age. His works shone a light on prevalent issues of his era, such as poverty, disease, and inequality, and called for widespread social change. Since Dickens’ time, his books have been translated into 15 ...  Show more

We all know he wrote the original Muppet Christmas Carol, but what else is there to know about Charles Dickens? From a childhood working in the factories of Victorian London, to becoming a literary superstar with books such as Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, join Greg Jenner ...  Show more

In this episode, Jacke takes a look at two topics. First, the story of Charles and Mary Lamb, whose children's book Tales from Shakespeare (1807) was published more than two hundred years ago and has never been out of print. Part of the literary circle that included Romantic-era ...  Show more

Charles Dickens is best known for chronicling life in London, but he also wrote about the United States - and not in a flattering light. When touring the U.S. and Canada with his wife, Dickens found many American customs repugnant. Tune in to learn more.