Single Malt History with Gareth Russell

I'm joined in this episode by Dr Nicola Clark to discuss the remarkable women produced by the House of Howard during the Tudor era - queens, duchesses, countesses, rebels, and ladies in waiting who immersed themselves in the debates of the Protestant Reformation. 

I’m joined by best-selling historian Leanda de Lisle to talk about her critically acclaimed books, Lady Jane Grey’s personality, James I’s sexuality, Leanda’s breakthrough with previously unpublished royal letters from the civil war, Margaret Beaufort’s tragedy, and how a Welsh warrior and womaniser changed the monarchy forever.

On 17th July 1918, Russia's ex-tsar, Nicholas II, his wife, their five children, and four servants were murdered in a cellar by members of the local Communist party. Who gave the final order? Why was there a rumour that the youngest Romanov daughter, Anastasia, had escaped death that night? Did the British Royal Family really abandon their Russian cousins? And how close were they to being rescued by their supporters? 

The 16th century produced many remarkable royal women, few more so than Nur Jahan, the refugee who became an empress. Nur Jahan’s extraordinary life is a story of persecution, murder, opulence, art, tiger hunts, drug addiction, and rebellions.

Dr. Nicola Tallis joins me to talk about her most recent book - a biography of Margaret Beaufort. Beaufort has been accused of infanticide, murder, treason, and cruelty in her quest to put her son on the throne of England as King Henry VII. Who better to ask than the author of “Uncrowned Queen” about just how much of this is true?

AJ West stops by to discuss the thrillingly dark true story that inspired his début novel, "The Spirit Engineer". In the summer of 1920, a professor's suicide in the northern Irish seaside town of Bangor lifted the lid on a Belfast Spiritualist church headed by a working-class blouse cutter called Kathleen Goligher, who attracted the attention of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini with her claims to be able to speak to the Dead. Now, this forgotten drama, long overshadowed by the "Titanic," the First World War, and the creation of Northern Ireland, takes centre stage - and I found it so interesting to discuss the truth behind the scandal with AJ. We also have a first - a short dramatisation from "The Spirit Engineer" for our listeners - voiced by actors Cáilum Carragher and Ashley Montgomery. 

How did Anne Boleyn go from being one of the most influential queens in English history to being executed before a large crowd on 19th May 1536? Was Henry VIII's second wife and Elizabeth I's mother brought down by politics, paranoia, prejudice, or perversion? In this episode, I narrate what really happened on Anne's final day alive and explore whether a cornucopia of incest, adultery, attempted murder, treason, and witchcraft actually helped bring about her terrible end.

Charlotte Hope, star of “The Spanish Princess,” sits down with Gareth Russell to open up about playing Katherine of Aragon, her character’s tragedy but incredible strength, what she really thinks of Anne Boleyn, and how she prepares for her roles. Lots of laughter. Some strong language. 

On 7th May 1915, a torpedo brought panic, terror, heroism, and heartbreak to the passengers and crew of the luxury liner "Lusitania". This episode is about the experiences of her victims and survivors, the conspiracy theories about what caused the mysterious second explosion and a tragedy that was so intense it shook the German throne - and navy. 

England's forgotten queen, Adeliza of Louvain, led a fascinating life in one of the Middle Ages's darkest periods - it's a story of arranged marriages, illicit love affairs, beauty, betrayal, and the unanswered question of if she helped start one of the bloodiest wars in British history.