My Favourite History Books
As I Like It
Podcast
So many monarchs, so many books. So. Much. History.
Gemma and Natalie decided to launch a podcast of their own and this is the result...
Welcome to the world of our History Specials!
1. Death in the Theatre with Chris Wood
Our first ever episode had to start with a trigger warning, due to a somewhat sombre topic.
We talk to Chris about his latest book, published by Pen & Sword.
We were full of admiration, and occasionally fan-girling over his first book Famous Last Words.
In this episode we're all about the theatre and all the ways one could while going to see a show, or being dragged to a theatre so your ex-husband could murder you... Tune in for the bantery chat, macabre laughs and all that Victorian West End glitter.
2. Queen Charlotte
In our second episode we talk about Queen Charlotte, and why she deserves to step into the historical limelight, so many years after her death.
We look at her life, her death and her relationship with her family.
Was she friends with Marie Antoinette? Did she truly love George and why is there a painting of her in North Carolina?
Apart from the recent Bridgerton spin-off, what other famous screen portrayals can she claim?
And let's see what connections does Queen Charlotte have with Bridget Jones...
3. Princes, Perfumes and Pomanders
with Olka Dott
On this episode we interview Olga, a renowned perfume tour guide. We dive deep into the history of perfume and scents in British perfumery.
What is the connection between Elizabeth I, Margaret Thatcher and Elizabeth, The Queen Mother? None of them were strangers to good scents.
Come along on the journey and discover the connection between fragrance and your favourite historical persons, be it Napoleon, Catherine de Medici or Florence Nightingale!
We include a few mystery stories of perfumes surviving famous shipwrecks or a revolution or two.
4. Catherine of Aragon
In this first half of the two-parter, we discuss Catherine of Aragon, a.k.a. Catalina de Aragon. In this episode we cover the Who Are You?, Life on Stage and Screen, Fun Facts and Controversy segments, leaving The Legacy, Geography, Edutainment and Pop Quiz for next time.
Catherine...the youngest daughter of the most Catholic monarchs ever...ended up being the eldest wife of Henry VIII. There are many myths surrounding Catherine, a lot of paradoxes are present in her narrative and we would like to shed some light on this, one of the most underrated women in Tudor history.
5. Richard III
On the birthday of this in/famous king, we delve into the myths about Richard III.
What was the real Richard like? What are the lessons we can draw from his tale?
What famous screen portrayals were based on his life as well as the Shakespeare version of him, and why are they different?
We also explore some random and silly, questions, like what book we would recommend him, and what film he would like. Somehow, we feel he would know a lot about parKING...
6. The Black Death with Chris Riley
The first of our Halloween Specials is dedicated to The Black Death, and our guest is Chris Riley of The Historians Magazine fame.
Tune in to our episode to learn the lessons we can draw from the OG pandemic that happened in the middle of the 14th century. What can we expect in the future, given that the world has just gone through a pandemic of our own?
​
7. Famous Last Words with Chris Wood
The second of our Halloween Specials features an interview with our beloved guest Chris Wood about his first book Famous Last Words.
The book boasts 20+ chapters on the last words uttered by someone before they died: from executions, to suicide, to murder. That's 23 various stories of how people died, across our beloved isle, across several centuries.
​
Tune in and find out about a proposal on the gallows....
8. Royal Witches with Gemma Hollman
The third of our Halloween Specials focusses on the witches, or rather features a crossover between royalty and witchcraft: Royal Witches
Four royal women are accused of witchcraft in fifteenth century England. Some get off lightly, some suffer the consequences.
​
One has to ask oneself, is it a coincidence that in the century where the shaky English throne can't seem to stabilise, it is the women that are getting the brunt?
9. Gunpowder, Treason and Plot
This episode is a History Special, and we dive deep into the narrative of the Gunpowder Plot. - what were its pre-cursors, why did it happen?
- what Popular Culture references are the most important?
- why the Guy Fawkes mask seems to be even more popular today than it was during the life of the IRL Guy Fawkes?
​- what is the irony in Guy Fawkes being the least known before the Plot unfurled?
- How many Plotters were there in total?
​
Remember, remember....
​
Explore the history of this very special and very British Day.
10. Young Queens with Leah Redmond Chang
One of the most important books of the past few years had hit the shelves in summer 2023 - Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power by Leah Redmond Chang; and we were lucky to get to interview her for this episode.
If you ever wondered about the intertwined lives of Catherine de Medici, Elisabeth de Valois (her daughter) and Mary, Queen of Scots, their kinswoman, this is the book for you.
Elizabeth I is the unofficial fourth Queen of this girl group.
Dive deep into this #GirlPower cocktail.
​
11. The Crown: Seasons One, Two, Three
In this, one of our more light-hearted episodes, Gemma and Natalie swap thoughts on the pop culture behemoth that is Netflix' series
The Crown.
​
Tune in and find out why they both consider season three to be the best one?
​
What, in their humble opinion, is the show's legacy and why is it so darn popular?
​
Take a guess who are their favourite members of the cast...
12. The White Ship with Chris Riley
25th November is the anniversary of the White Ship Disaster, some call it the Medieval Titanic Tragedy.
The heir to the throne - the only legitimate son of Henry I perished in the English Channel, giving way to the succession dispute, which in turn became the 19-year long Civil War usually called The Anarchy.
Tune in and find out all the gory details from Chris Riley, of The Historians Magazine fame.
13. The Princes in the Tower: New Evidence
The mystery of the Princes in the Tower has been beguiling history fans for a very long time.
Did Uncle Richard have anything to do with their disappearance? Why was their aunt Margaret of Burgundy preparing for an invasion to England after the Battle of Bosworth?
Eleven years after finding Richard III's skeleton, Philippa Langley sheds light on what could have happened to the young sons of Edward IV.
Gemma and Natalie exchange opinions on the results of this investigation of the 'history's coldest case'.
One thing is clear: the princes are definitely wanted, dead or alive.
​
15. Catherine of Aragon: Queenquel
In this second half of the two-parter, we discuss Catherine of Aragon, a.k.a. Catalina de Aragon. In this episode we cover The Legacy, Geography, Edutainment and Pop Quiz, having already done Who Are You?, Life on Stage and Screen, Fun Facts and Controversy segments in our first Catherine episode.
Catalina...the youngest daughter of the most Catholic monarchs ever...ended up being the eldest wife of Henry VIII. There are many myths surrounding Catherine, a lot of paradoxes are present in her narrative and we would like to shed some light on this, one of the most underrated women in Tudor history.
16. The Crown: Seasons Four, Five, Six...
In this, one of our more light-hearted episodes, Gemma and Natalie swap thoughts on the pop culture behemoth that is Netflix' series
The Crown.​
​​
What, in their humble opinion, is the show's legacy and why is it so darn popular?
​​
Take a guess who are their favourite members of the cast...
​
In this Crown episode talk about the second half of this behemoth show, the 'Diana' years.