History Extra podcast

History Extra podcast

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Jane Austen’s final chapter – and lasting legacy

What does Austen’s later writing tell us about her changing ideas? And what factors contributed to her death? In this fourth and final episode of our series chronicling the novelist’s life and work, Dr Lizzie Rogers charts the last part of Austen’s story, and her enormous continu ...  Show more

All Episodes

Jane Austen’s final chapter – and lasting legacy

What does Austen’s later writing tell us about her changing ideas? And what factors contributed to her death? In this fourth and final episode of our series chronicling the novelist’s life and work, Dr Lizzie Rogers charts the last part of Austen’s story, and her enormous continu ...  Show more

Prophetesses & she-preachers of the 17th century

A prophetess who warned Oliver Cromwell against killing the king. A Yorkshire maidservant who gained an audience with the Ottoman Sultan. The religious tumult of the 17th century gave ordinary women opportunities to have their voices heard more than ever before. Speaking to Ellie ...  Show more

New Year's Eve, newts and Nessie: a history of British folklore

Why should you be careful about who's first through your door on New Year's Day? What led people to believe that newts and earwigs were responsible for their ailments? And why do sticks play such a key part in children's imaginations? Ceri Houlbrook and Owen Davies, co-authors of ...  Show more

Augustus: life of the week

‘Evil genius’ is a phrase that could have been invented to describe Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. Augustus butchered his way to power in the chaos that followed Julius Caesar's assassination, and then showed the political cunning to remain there for four decades. In conver ...  Show more

Inside the Viking battle of the genders

What do we know for certain about Old Norse ideas about masculinity and femininity, and can Viking Age mythology provide any answers? In conversation with James Osborne, Dr Jackson Crawford discusses the second edition of his translation of the Poetic Edda, and explores what can ...  Show more