Wedged between France and Austria, Piedmont-Sardinia is one of the most overlooked powers of the French Revolutionary Wars. Best remembered for unifying Italy in the 19th century, this episode unpacks the kingdom's early success and unique composition. Along the way, we touch on Admiral Nelson, the Polish Partition, and debates regarding the memory of Italian unification.
Thank you to Dr Christopher Storrs for making this episode possible.
May 2026 Tour

Limited places remaining for Grey History’s French Revolution Tour (May 2026)
⁠⁠Book Your Place Here⁠⁠

The Grey History Community

Help keep Grey History on the air! Every revolution needs its supporters, and we need you! With an ad-free feed, a community discord, a reading club, and tonnes of exclusive bonus content, you're missing out! Do your part for as little as half a cup of coffee per episode! It's the best value on the internet, with the best people too!

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About

Grey History: The French Revolution and Napoleon is a podcast dedicated to exploring the complexities of our history. By examining both the experiences of contemporaries and the conclusions of historians, Grey History seeks to unpack the ambiguities and nuances of the past. Understanding the French Revolution and the age of Napoleon Bonaparte is critical to understanding the history of the world, so join us on a journey through a series of events that would be almost unbelievable if it weren't for the fact that it's true! If you're looking for a binge-worthy history podcast on the Revolution and Napoleon, you're in the right place!

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A new calendar for a new France! From high hopes to utter confusion, Matt Shaw joins us to unpack the calendar's turbulent history. Explore the calendar’s gradual creation, its uneven adoption, and the Directory’s aggressive attempts to reinforce its use well after the Terror. We also discuss why Napoleon ultimately abolished the Republican calendar, and the last legacy of this infamous reform.

This is a Members-Only episode available exclusively for the Grey History Community. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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May 2026 Tour

Places are limited for Grey History’s French Revolution Tour (May 2026)

⁠⁠Book Your Place Here⁠⁠

The Grey History Community

Help keep Grey History on the air! Every revolution needs its supporters, and we need you! With an ad-free feed, a community discord, a reading club, and tonnes of exclusive bonus content, you're missing out! Do your part for as little as half a cup of coffee per episode! It's the best value on the internet, with the best people too!

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About

Grey History: The French Revolution and Napoleon is a podcast dedicated to exploring the complexities of our history. By examining both the experiences of contemporaries and the conclusions of historians, Grey History seeks to unpack the ambiguities and nuances of the past. Understanding the French Revolution and the age of Napoleon Bonaparte is critical to understanding the history of the world, so join us on a journey through a series of events that would be almost unbelievable if it weren't for the fact that it's true! If you're looking for a binge-worthy history podcast on the Revolution and Napoleon, you're in the right place!

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I join the French History Podcast to discuss three overlooked sites of Revolutionary Paris! From the famous to the forgotten, enjoy the history of these key revolutionary landmarks.

For another great podcast on the French Revolution, check out Dr. Gary Girod's French History Podcast!

May 2026 Tour

Bookings now live: Grey History’s French Revolution Tour (May 2026)

⁠Book Your Place Here⁠

Stand in Marie Antoinette’s cell. Recreate the storming of the Bastille. Spend a full day at Versailles, including its famous Tennis Court.

Bookings are now live for Grey History’s French Revolution Tour, running 12–19 May 2026: eight days across Paris and the Loire Valley, designed and hosted by Will Clark.

⁠Book Your Place Here

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bookings now live: Grey History’s French Revolution Tour (May 2026)

Book Your Place Here

Stand in Marie Antoinette’s cell. Recreate the storming of the Bastille. Spend a full day at Versailles.

Bookings are now live for Grey History’s French Revolution Tour, running 12–19 May 2026: eight days across Paris and the Loire Valley, designed and hosted by Will Clark.

Highlights include five nights in Paris with Versailles, a walk through revolutionary Paris to the former Bastille, the Conciergerie (including Marie Antoinette’s cell), the Panthéon, the Louvre in small groups, and Napoleonic Paris at Les Invalides and the Arc de Triomphe. Then two nights in Tours in the Loire Valley to explore châteaux and royal towns.

Places are strictly capped at 20. Prices start from $6,399 USD, with a $1,000 USD deposit to reserve your place.

Book Your Place Here

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I joined the team at History Dispatches for a fun Christmas special. Together, we explore the Revolution’s fraught relationship with the Catholic Church, and how festive cheer was targeted during the dechristianisation campaign of 1793.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Revolutionary France Tour - Join Me In Paris in May 2026!

Book Now. Places are filling fast!

The Grey History Community

Help keep Grey History on the air! Every revolution needs its supporters, and we need you! With an ad-free feed, a community discord, a reading club, and tonnes of exclusive bonus content, you're missing out! Do your part for as little as half a cup of coffee per episode! It's the best value on the internet, with the best people too!

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About

Grey History: The French Revolution and Napoleon is a podcast dedicated to exploring the complexities of our history. By examining both the experiences of contemporaries and the conclusions of historians, Grey History seeks to unpack the ambiguities and nuances of the past. Understanding the French Revolution and the age of Napoleon Bonaparte is critical to understanding the history of the world, so join us on a journey through a series of events that would be almost unbelievable if it weren't for the fact that it's true! If you're looking for a binge-worthy history podcast on the Revolution and Napoleon, you're in the right place!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No Sundays, no saints, no salvation.

As dechristianisation exploded in the capital, radical revolutionaries closed churches, forced abdications, and turned Notre-Dame into a Temple of Reason. Seeking to replace past errors with enlightenment values, the Cult of Reason was established with mixed success.

This episode explores the dramatic escalation of dechristianisation, including the creation of the Cult of Reason. It also examines Bishop Gobel’s resignation, and how marriages, abdications, and the cult itself varied across the nation.

Revolutionary France Tour

Join the waitlist here!

The Grey History Community

Help keep Grey History on the air! Every revolution needs its supporters, and we need you! With an ad-free feed, a community discord, a reading club, and tonnes of exclusive bonus content, you're missing out! Do your part for as little as half a cup of coffee per episode! It's the best value on the internet, with the best people too!

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About

Grey History: The French Revolution and Napoleon is a podcast dedicated to exploring the complexities of our history. By examining both the experiences of contemporaries and the conclusions of historians, Grey History seeks to unpack the ambiguities and nuances of the past. Understanding the French Revolution and the age of Napoleon Bonaparte is critical to understanding the history of the world, so join us on a journey through a series of events that would be almost unbelievable if it weren't for the fact that it's true! If you're looking for a binge-worthy history podcast on the Revolution and Napoleon, you're in the right place!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first Grey History Tour is now live! From Tuesday 12 May to Tuesday 19 May 2026, I’m hosting an eight-day, small-group journey through Revolutionary France. We’ll spend five nights in Paris, then two nights in the Loire Valley.

The full itinerary is ready to read. Bookings will open once the waitlist reaches the tour minimum, and waitlist members will receive the first invitation to book.

Highlights
Experience a full day at Versailles with a specialist guide
Explore the Louvre in small groups (no more than six)
Relive July 1789, ending at the former Bastille
Enter the Conciergerie and stand in Marie Antoinette’s cell
Visit the Panthéon and meet France’s revolutionary heroes
Marvel at Napoleon’s Tomb and the Arc de Triomphe
Discover the Loire’s royal towns and châteaux, including Chambord and Chenonceau

Places are strictly capped at 20. Join the waitlist for first access and early bird pricing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new crusade! Determined to purge superstition and fanaticism in all its forms, anti-clerical zeal erupts across the French Republic.

This episode uncovers how Joseph Fouché’s campaign in central France helped ignite a national movement. From the forced marriages of priests to the destruction of churches, we explore the many dimensions of dechristianisation. We also trace the rising tensions between constitutional clerics and the Jacobins, and how the Revolution turned against the Catholic faith in a bid to regenerate the nation.

Episode Extras

Rewriting Time: Naming The French Republican Calendar
Renaming Republican France: From Towns To Babies

Rural Calendar

A horse? An apple tree? Find out what day were you born on here

Paris Tour May 2026

Early Access Pass - More Info Here!

Early Access

Become a True Revolutionary and listen now to ⁠Episode 104 "The Cult of Reason"

The Grey History Community

Help keep Grey History on the air! Every revolution needs its supporters, and we need you! With an ad-free feed, a community discord, a reading club, and tonnes of exclusive bonus content, you're missing out! Do your part for as little as half a cup of coffee per episode! It's the best value on the internet, with the best people too!

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All members of the Grey History Community have an ad-free version of the show. Support the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

About

Grey History: The French Revolution and Napoleon is a podcast dedicated to exploring the complexities of our history. By examining both the experiences of contemporaries and the conclusions of historians, Grey History seeks to unpack the ambiguities and nuances of the past. Understanding the French Revolution and the age of Napoleon Bonaparte is critical to understanding the history of the world, so join us on a journey through a series of events that would be almost unbelievable if it weren't for the fact that it's true! If you're looking for a binge-worthy history podcast on the Revolution and Napoleon, you're in the right place!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fortune, fraud, and the fall of empires. Dr Elizabeth Cross joins Grey History to uncover the turbulent history of the French East India Company.

From royal privilege to revolutionary scandal, this episode traces how the troubled company became a symbol of greed and speculation. Often compared to its more successful rival, we’ll also touch on the challenges faced by the British East India Company and examine trade relations with the young United States. Discover the wild history of this forgotten enterprise and how its corruption helped to implode the Jacobin Republic.

Dr Cross is the author of Company Politics: Commerce, Scandal, and French Visions of Indian Empire in the Revolutionary Era.

Early Access

Become a True Revolutionary and listen now to Episode 1.103 Dechristianisation Part I

The Grey History Community

Help keep Grey History on the air! Every revolution needs its supporters, and we need you! With an ad-free feed, a community discord, a reading club, and tonnes of exclusive bonus content, you're missing out! Do your part for as little as half a cup of coffee per episode! It's the best value on the internet, with the best people too!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join Now And Support the Show⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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All members of the Grey History Community have an ad-free version of the show. Support the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

About

Grey History: The French Revolution and Napoleon is a podcast dedicated to exploring the complexities of our history. By examining both the experiences of contemporaries and the conclusions of historians, Grey History seeks to unpack the ambiguities and nuances of the past. Understanding the French Revolution and the age of Napoleon Bonaparte is critical to understanding the history of the world, so join us on a journey through a series of events that would be almost unbelievable if it weren't for the fact that it's true! If you're looking for a binge-worthy history podcast on the Revolution and Napoleon, you're in the right place!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’ve listened to the Revolution — now it’s time to live it!

I’m thrilled to announce that Grey History Tours are officially happening in 2026! Our first trip will take place in Paris in mid-May, and will run for about a week (approximately 12–19 May).

We’ll walk the same streets as Lafayette and Robespierre, explore Versailles Palace, and even recreate the Storming of the Bastille. From Marie Antoinette’s prison cell to Napoleon’s Tomb, the Louvre, and Notre-Dame, you’ll experience the Revolution like never before — with exclusive access, expert storytelling, and a small group of fellow history lovers.

To join this first-ever tour, I’ve opened a limited number of Early Access Passes.

Each pass gives you priority booking and $150 off next year’s tour.

It costs $100 — fully refundable at any time — and if you don’t use it, you’ll automatically get your money back in March 2026.
This will be a small-group experience, capped at 20 people, and early interest has already been huge. This is your chance to be first in line!

If you’ve ever thought, “One day I’d love to explore Revolutionary Paris,” this is your moment!

Reserve your Early Access Pass now!

More Information

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices