Not Just the Tudors

How did a woman rise to power, and keep it, in the fiercely male-dominated Habsburg Empire?From her distrust of the Enlightenment to her religious intolerance, and from family strategy to imperial power, Maria Theresa was a remarkable ruler driven by discipline, faith, dynastic a ...  Show more

How did England’s earliest travellers to India try to win favour in a Mughal golden age that scarcely noticed them?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb speaks with Dr Lubaaba Al-Azami about Tudor and early Stuart England’s turn to global trade after Elizabeth I’s break with Catholic Europ ...  Show more

What if becoming queen was the worst thing that could happen to you? What if the crown became your death sentence?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, the brilliant, devout teenager, who was proclaimed queen of England against her will, reigned ...  Show more

She cut off her hair to sail the seas. She divorced her husband by locking him out of his own castle. And when her son was killed by the occupying English, she sailed straight up the Thames to plead for help from Elizabeth I. Or did she?Gráinne Ní Mháille, or Grace O'Malley, the ...  Show more

Why were Shakespeare’s greatest heroines played by teenage boys? How did they learn their craft? On the Elizabethan stage, highly trained young men progressed from minor parts to play some of the Bard's most famous heroines, including Juliet and Cleopatra.Professor Suzannah Lipsc ...  Show more