History Rage

Think we’ve exhausted Tudor history? Think again — what are we missing?

Are the Tudors really overdone, or are we simply telling the same stories over and over again? Dr Joanne Paul joins Paul Bavill for a counter-rage against the idea that historians should stop studying the Tudors.

From the English Reformation and the Break with Rome to poverty, politics, women, immigrants, people of colour and the extraordinary figures operating beyond the royal spotlight, there is far more to sixteenth-century England than Henry VIII, his six wives and Elizabeth I.

Joanne explains why modern Tudor history is busy challenging Victorian misconceptions, uncovering overlooked lives and rethinking how power actually worked. Why did the dissolution of the monasteries fundamentally change the experience of poverty? Were Tudor counsellors sometimes more important than the monarch? Were the seeds of the English Civil War already being planted in sixteenth-century ideas about government?

There is also plenty of discussion about the English Reformation, Lollardy, Renaissance humanism, Edward VI, the Marian regime, Henry VII, the rise of the “new men” and, inevitably, why Edward Seymour sucks.

If you think Tudor history begins and ends with Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, this is your challenge to look again.

Dr Joanne Paul is speaking at the Gloucester History Festival, which runs from 12th–20th September. Joanne will be appearing on Friday 18th September at 4pm, discussing the end of Henry VIII's reign. Find festival information and tickets at: https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk
Find out more about Dr Joanne Paul and follow her work:
Website: https://www.joannepaul.co.uk
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrJoannePaul
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjoannepaul/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/drjoannepaul
Joanne is the author of Thomas More: A Life and Death in Tudor England and The House of Dudley. Buy The House of Dudley and support History Rage through the History Rage Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781405937191

Recommended episodes:
Episode 269: Al Murray argues it’s time to shut up about the Tudors.
Episode 266: Dr Joanne Paul rages that it’s not Lady Jane Grey — it’s Queen Jane Dudley.

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Why Caen’s ‘slow’ liberation actually won the Battle of Normandy.

Historian and battlefield guide Ben Mayne joins https://historyrage.com to dismantle one of the most persistent myths of the Second World War: that the British and Canadians were “too slow” to break out from Caen after D-Day.

Drawing on years of battlefield research, veterans’ testimonies and deep study of Operation Charnwood, Ben argues that the fighting around Caen unfolded exactly as Bernard Montgomery intended. Rather than a failed advance, Caen became the crucial “anvil” that trapped and destroyed the bulk of Germany’s Panzer divisions while the Americans prepared their breakout across Normandy.

We explore why the city proved so difficult to capture, the role of the Hillman bunker complex, the impact of Operation Fortitude, and how attritional warfare shaped the wider Normandy campaign. Ben also explains why the RAF bombing raids before Charnwood were never intended to flatten Caen — and how post-war narratives unfairly painted British and Canadian troops as passive or ineffective.

This episode dives into:
Why Caen mattered so much to Allied strategy after D-Day
The real purpose of Montgomery’s Normandy campaign plan
How German SS Panzer divisions concentrated around Caen
The brutal fighting faced by British and Canadian infantry
Why Operation Charnwood deserves far greater recognition
The truth behind the “drinking tea while waiting” myth
How logistics, manpower and attrition shaped the liberation of Normandy

If you enjoy military history, Normandy battlefield analysis, D-Day history, or debates around Montgomery’s leadership, this episode is essential listening.

Follow Ben Mayne:
X/Twitter: https://x.com/BattlefieldBen
Liberation Route Europe UK: https://www.liberationroute.com/uk
Liberation Route Europe App: https://www.liberationroute.com/app

Related listening:
James Holland on the Italian Campaign and the “D-Day Dodgers”
Jack Bowsher on why the Burma Campaign was far more than infantry warfare

Support History Rage:
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Jane Austen wasn’t polite—she was sharp, savage, and brilliantly misunderstood

For generations, Jane Austen has been portrayed as a quiet, genteel figure—an almost saintly observer of polite Regency society. But what if that image is completely wrong?

In this episode of History Rage, host Paul Bavill is joined by Austen expert and What The Austen podcast host Izzy Meakin to dismantle one of literary history’s most persistent myths. Drawing on Austen’s surviving letters, family history, and the subtext of her novels, Izzy reveals a writer who was anything but passive—sharp-tongued, ironic, politically aware, and often brutally funny.

From scathing remarks about neighbours and family to her barely concealed disdain for the Prince Regent, Austen’s private voice tells a very different story. With only around 160 letters surviving—and many deliberately destroyed by her sister Cassandra—the version of Austen we’ve inherited is incomplete at best, curated at worst.
Izzy explores how Austen’s family helped shape her legacy after her death, particularly through her brother Henry’s glowing (and arguably over-sanitised) biography and even her gravestone inscription—both of which emphasised her sweetness and morality while ignoring her literary achievements.

But the real Austen lives in the nuance:
A writer who channelled personal frustrations into Sense and Sensibility
A keen observer of social hypocrisy and gender constraints
A creator of complex, flawed, and deeply human female characters

This episode dives into how Austen’s lived experiences—from financial insecurity to complicated family dynamics—fed directly into her fiction, and why her work continues to reward readers who look beyond the surface.

If you think Austen is all romance and manners, this conversation will change your perspective entirely.

About the Guest
Izzy Meakin is the host of the What The Austen podcast, where she explores the life, works, and cultural legacy of Jane Austen with fresh insight and humour.
Instagram: @whattheausten
Podcast: Available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube and all major platforms
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whattheausten

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Step beyond the myth and rediscover Jane Austen as she really was: complicated, contradictory, and endlessly fascinating.
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Are you sure there is a single, "real" version of Achilles, Helen, or the Odyssey?

In this episode, classicist and author Emily Hauser (creator of Mythica) joins Paul Bavill to dismantle one of the biggest misconceptions in classical literature: the search for a single, definitive "truth" behind ancient myth. From Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey to modern cinematic interpretations, myth was never meant to be a static rulebook. It is a living, flexible oral tradition shaped by who is telling the story, why they are telling it, and which voices—especially those of women—are written into or out of the narrative.

Together, Emily and Paul explore how figures like Penelope, Cassandra, Helen, Briseis, and Andromache offer richer, more complex insights into the ancient world than any rigid timeline ever could. They unpack the ancient concept of Xenia (guest-friendship), the tragedy of divine curses, and why asking "why was this myth told this way?" is far more powerful than chasing a "canon" that never existed.

Key Takeaways & Discussion Highlights

The Myth of the "Correct" Myth: Why searching for the "real" Achilles or Helen misses the core purpose of fluid, evolving oral storytelling.
The Silencing of Women: How Telemachus’s rebuke of Penelope in Book 1 of the Odyssey marks one of the earliest Western literary examples of silencing female speech—and how female writers resist it.
The Real Meaning of Xenia: Why host-guest relationships act as the social glue of ancient Greece, and how both the suitors and Odysseus himself violate these sacred rules.
Agency and Curses: The tragic dimensions of Cassandra’s truth-telling curse, Helen’s balance of agency and divine intervention, and how Briseis evolved from Homer to Shakespeare.

Featured Guest: Dr. Emily Hauser
Dr. Emily Hauser is a classicist, academic, and author of Mythica: A New History of Homer's World Through the Women Written Out of It.

Book: Buy Emily's book Mythica at the official History Rage Bookshop:
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781804992791

Gloucester History Festival: Emily is speaking live at the festival on Thursday, 17th September at 6:00 PM. The Gloucester History Festival runs from 12th – 20th September. Get your tickets here:
https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk

Related History Rage Episodes
Continue exploring Ancient Greece, historical myths, and classical voices with these recommended episodes:

Episode 257: Natalie Haynes rages that Greek myth is a lot less male-centric than we think.
Episode 305: Adrian Goldsworthy rages that Ancient Greece is not all poets and philosophers.

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The English Civil Wars were far messier than King versus Parliament

The English Civil Wars are often reduced to a simple clash: King versus Parliament, Cavaliers versus Roundheads, tyranny versus democracy. But as historian Jonathan Healey reveals, that tidy narrative collapses the moment you look closer.

In this episode of History Rage, Jonathan dismantles the myths surrounding the mid-17th century conflicts and shows just how tangled the reality truly was. Parliament itself was divided, loyalties shifted constantly, and ordinary people weren’t passive followers—they made choices, took sides, and shaped events in ways that still surprise historians today.

We explore why religion mattered—but not always in the way you think—how political factions splintered into ever more radical movements, and why the execution of Charles I was never inevitable. What began as disputes over authority spiralled into debates about sovereignty, representation, and the limits of monarchy—arguments that would echo through centuries of political thought.

Jonathan also challenges the comforting idea of clear heroes and villains. The English Civil Wars were morally grey, filled with figures whose decisions reshaped the kingdom in unpredictable ways. The result is a conflict far more complicated—and far more fascinating—than the schoolbook version.
Whether you're new to the period or already fascinated by 17th-century politics, this episode will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about the Civil Wars.

About the Guest
Jonathan Healey is a social historian of early modern England and author of The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England. His work focuses on the lives, politics, and ideas that transformed Britain during the revolutionary decades of the 17th century.

Follow Jonathan Healey:
Bluesky: @JonathanHealey

Buy the Book:
The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England
History Rage Bookshop:
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781526621696

Listen Next
If this episode sparks your interest in 17th-century conflict, you might also enjoy:
Episode 35 – Kirstine MacKenzie on why it’s really the War of Three Kingdoms
Episode 102 – Mark Turnbull’s defence of Charles I

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History isn’t simple—and that’s exactly why it’s worth raging about.
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