This my retelling of the story of England, which is a regular, chronological podcast, starting from the end of Roman Britain. There are as many of the great eve...
"Never man was highlier extolled, and never man baselier reported of and vilified” write Richard Baxter - a contemporary of Oliver Cromwell, who was not a fan. In this he was closer to the truth than Samuel Johnson, who wearily wrote in the 18th century that "all that can be told of him is already in print.” Cromwell is makes a subject extraordinarily divisive, and extraordinarily rich, partly because, as some other clever person remarked, people find in him what they are looking for. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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44:54
Nelson with Dominic Sandbrook
Nelson was a military genius and fierce patriot, idolised by his men and the British public - and held up to ridicule too, for his affair with Emma and his treatment of Fanny. In his book for children, 'Nelson, Hero of the Seas', historian, author and Rest is History podcaster Dominic Sandbrook, brings out his charisma and genius - and his complexity and flaws. And Dominic also had time to speak to me about the challenges and glories of writing for young people - and about Nelson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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AAG 1649-1653 The Commonwealth
In 1649 the English parliament proudly declared that freedom had been restored and that King and Lords had been rejected. But in other ways, the new Commonwealth failed to bring about a new world. True there were difficult problems to resolve with war in Ireland, Scotland and against the Dutch. And naval and commercial achievement was significant. But the English people did not feel they were advancing to a new, better world, and the Rump became deeply unpopular. In the end - there would be a crisis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1:01:45
AAG 1646-1649 To Kill a King
In 1646, Charles secretly left Oxford, not sure whether to appeal to the English in London, or the Scots at Newark. It was the start of a long process of three years, which would see torturous negotiations - and the rise of extraordinary ideas about the rights of the people and religious toleration, and how to make all the blood worthwhile in a new world. It was a journey that would lead to the scaffold on a cold morning in January 1649. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1:03:30
418 Barebones
In his haste to expel the Rump which had failed so badly, Cromwell and the Army officers came up with a temporary expedient. The Nominated assembly would be chosen from the most sober, Godly and intelligent of society, they would do the job of reform the Rump had failed to do, set up proper elections, and then retire once more, their job done. The Commonwealth would be restored and set on the right path. Well; that was the idea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This my retelling of the story of England, which is a regular, chronological podcast, starting from the end of Roman Britain. There are as many of the great events I can squeeze in, of course, but I also try to keep an eye on how people lived, their language, what was important to them, the forces that shaped their lives and destinies, that sort of thing. To support the podcast, access a library of 100 hours of shedcasts of me warbling on, and get new shedcasts every month, why not become a member at https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk/become-a-member ? You know it makes sense... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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