400. Victorian Britain's Maddest Mystery

What was the ancient city of Rome actually like in the first century BC? Who was Lucius Cornelius Sulla, another great, but aristocratic, Roman general who would clash with Gaius Marius in a totemic struggle termed the Social War? And, who were the terrifying Germanic tribes amas ...  Show more

Who was Gaius Marius, one of the two men who would shape the fate of Rome in the first century BC? Why was his road to fame, fortune, and political greatness, from total obscurity, so dangerous? And, would Marius be the man to face down the existential threat facing the empire du ...  Show more

An Australian man comes to England claiming to be a long-lost heir thought dead in a shipwreck. What happened next sparked a trial lasting 188 days—one of the longest in English history—and a scandal that captivated the Victorian public.

Kate Summerscale, author of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, tells us about her new book, which investigates another shocking 19th-century crime. Meanwhile, Andrew Lambert guides us around the famous clipper Cutty Sark, a ship that raced around the world as part of the lucrative Vic ...  Show more

It’s 1865, and butcher Arthur Orton is living in poverty in Australia. Then he hears about a reward for information on England’s ninth richest nobleman, Sir Roger Tichborne, who's been missing for several years. So Arthur comes up with an audacious plan. All he has to do is fool ...  Show more

Arthur Orton is inching towards victory. But when an untimely death forces him to prove his identity in court, the game steps up. Now he must convince the world he’s Sir Roger Tichborne, or face public humiliation—and a one-way ticket to pennilessness.Listen to British Scandal on ...  Show more