If It Ain't Baroque...

Dear listener, today we present to you our chat with PETER JAMES BOWMAN, the author of First Celebrities, published with Amberley. 

When did the cult of celebrity start? Why is it important to differentiate between fame and celebrity?

Let's dive into five Georgian superstars and find out the secrets of their infamy...

Welcome, Peter James!

The First Celebrities

https://www.amberley-books.com/author-community-main-page/b/peter-james-bowman/the-first-celebrities.html

The Real Persuasion

https://www.amberley-books.com/the-real-persuasion-9781398122574.html

The Fortune Hunter

https://www.signalbooks.co.uk/2014/07/the-fortune-hunter/ (UK)

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-fortune-hunter/peter-james-bowman/9781909930032 (USA)

Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours in London with Reign of London:

Titanic:

https://www.getyourguide.com/en-gb/london-l57/london-rms-titanic-walking-tour-t1246693/

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please welcome historian Claire Hobson, and today we're talking about her latest book - published with Pen & Sword - about Charles II of Great Britain.

Let's find out what Charles' childhood was like, what was his relationship with his parents, and how did the civil war and its losses impact him?

Tune in and find out more...

Welcome, Claire!

Get Charles II: From The Cradle to the Crown:

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Charles-II-Hardback/p/52730/aid/1238

Find Claire:

https://www.instagram.com/restoration.hat/

https://bsky.app/profile/restorationhat.bsky.social

https://x.com/RestorationHat

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565179499904

Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours in London with Reign of London:

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's talk the Orkney Saga, Orkney Earls and just Orkney history in general.

For those who don't know, The Orkneys are the northermost islands in Scotland, bar Shetlands.

Please welcome Judith Jesch, who has recently written a book with Birlinn Publishing on The Saga of the Earls of Orkney.

Welcome, Judith!

Get The Saga:

https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-saga-of-the-earls-of-orkney/

Get Women in the Viking Age:

https://boydellandbrewer.com/book/women-in-the-viking-age-pb/

Read Judith:

https://boydellandbrewer.com/?s=judith+jesch

Find Judith:

https://oldnorse.org/portfolio/viking-warrior-women-judith-jesch-an-expert-in-viking-studies-examines-the-latest-evidence/

https://bsky.app/profile/judithjesch.bsky.social

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Jesch

Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours with Reign of London:

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's dive deep into the beginnings of the Civil War of the 17th century.

With us today is Jonathan Healey, whose book The Blood in Winter: England on the Brink of the Civil War 1642 has just come out in paperback.

It is published by Bloomsbury in the UK and Penguin Random House in the USA.

Welcome, Jonathan!

Get Blood in the Snow:

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/blood-in-winter-9781526672346/ (UK)

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/762711/the-blood-in-winter-by-jonathan-healey/ (USA)

Get The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England:

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/blazing-world-9781526621658/ (UK)

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/659745/the-blazing-world-by-jonathan-healey/ (USA)

Find Jonathan:

https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-jonathan-healey

https://www.worldturnedupsidedown.co.uk/team/jonathan-healey/

https://x.com/SocialHistoryOx

https://thesocialhistorian.wordpress.com/about/

https://www.instagram.com/jonathanhealey1647/

https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanhealey.bsky.social

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2230076/jonathan-healey/

Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours in London with Reign of London:

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're talking to Helen Strudwick, the curator at the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge. She has helped hone their latest exhibition Made in Ancient Egypt.

Let's find out more...

Find Fitzwilliam Museum:

https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/

Get to the Exhibition:

https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/plan-your-visit/exhibitions/made-in-ancient-egypt

Meet Helen:

https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/profile/helen-strudwick

Visit Cambridge:

https://www.visitcambridge.org/place/the-fitzwilliam-museum/

Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours with Reign of London:

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 18th February in the year of our Lord 1516, a girl was born at Greenwich Palace to the happy parents Henry VIII and Katharine of Aragon.

This girl would grow up to be the future Mary I of England, elder sister to both Edward VI and Elizabeth I, as well as wife to Philip II of Spain.

In her short 42 year life, she achieved many first, not least of all to be the first Crowned Queen of England in her own right.

Posthumously, she was undeservedly given the moniker of 'Bloody Mary', as well as getting confused with Mary Queen of Scots.

Today we talk to Dr Johanna Strong, who will set the record straight once and for all. Who was Mary, what did she achieve and how we should remember her.

Welcome, Jo!

Find Dr Johanna:

https://drjohannastrong.ca/

https://www.instagram.com/_johanna.strong_/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanna-strong/

https://x.com/jo_strong_

https://winchester.academia.edu/JohannaStrong

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Johanna-Strong

Read Dr Johanna:

https://drjohannastrong.ca/recent-publications/

Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours in London with Reign of London:

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You think you know Notting Hill?

Think again. Let's go back to the 1950's and 60's London.

One individual should stand out - and that's the notorious landlord Peter Rachman, after whom rachmanism is named after.

In the Oxford English Dictionary, it means the exploitation and intimidation of tenants by unscrupulous landlords.

Today we sit down with Neil Root, the author of Rachman's upcoming biography, published by Icon Books.

Welcome, Neil!

Get Slumlord:

https://www.iconbooks.com/ib-title/slumlord-3/

Get Cleveland St Scandal:

https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/the-cleveland-street-scandal/

Find and Follow Neil:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-root-36311432/

https://thehistorypress.co.uk/contributor/neil-root/

https://thecwa.co.uk/find-an-author/root-neil/

https://www.waterstones.com/author/neil-root/6653

https://authory.com/NeilRoot

https://www.instagram.com/neilrootwriter/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/30390132.Neil_Root

https://x.com/NEILROOTWriter

Find Baroque:

https://www.instagram.com/ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://www.instagram.com/natalieisahistorybuff/

https://www.tiktok.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

https://x.com/BaroquePodcast

https://www.tiktok.com/@reignoflondon

https://bsky.app/profile/ifitaintbaroquepod.bsky.social

https://www.threads.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours with Reign of London:

RMS Titanic:

https://www.getyourguide.com/en-gb/london-l57/london-rms-titanic-walking-tour-t1246693/

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroque.com/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/ .

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're talking to Mark Goldthorp, who played Henry VIII in the recent production of Anne Boleyn: The Musical at Hever Castle, produced by Historalia.

Let's find out what it was like to step into the shoes of this infamous monarch and why this musical is so unique...

Welcome, Mark!

Find Mark:

https://mamma-mia.com/uk-and-international-tour/cast/mark-goldthrop

https://www.instagram.com/markgoldthorp/

Find the Musical:

https://www.instagram.com/anneboleynthemusical/

Find Rebecca Night:

https://www.instagram.com/rebeccanighthp/

Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours in London with Reign of London:

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're talking to Fawn Brokaw Doyle, author of a historical fiction novel Salt People of the Cloud Houses, which traces her eight times great grandmother Sarah Rapalje, who was the first European child born in the area we now call New York...

Welcome, Fawn!

Get Salt People of the Cloud Houses:

https://books.fawnbrokawdoyle.com/

Get Prequel:

https://www.fawnbrokawdoyle.com/free-prequel

Find Fawn:

https://www.instagram.com/fawnbrokawdoyle_author/

https://jonathancrain.substack.com/p/from-family-tree-to-historical-fiction

https://www.fawnbrokawdoyle.com/

Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours in London with Reign of London:

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please welcome historian Carol Chillington Rutter to the show, and today we're talking about the life and times of Henry Wotton, a Tudor and Jacobean Italian ambassador who helped prevent a pan-European war. Who was he? Let's find out more...

Welcome, Carol!

Carol's books are published with Manchester University Press.

A great thank you to Carol for joining us today, and if you would like to see Carol at this year's Oxford Literary Festival, the bookings are open, please see link in the description below for Carol's chat with Clare Jackson on Henry Wotton and James VI & I.

Get Lying Abroad:

https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526172068/

Get Shakespeare in Performance: Antony and Cleopatra:

https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526194701/

Get Shakespeare in Performance: The Henry VI Plays:

https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719080937/

See Carol at Oxford Literary Festival 2026:

https://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-events/2026/march-24/history-makers-james-vi-and-i-and-henry-wotton

Find Carol:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/people/rutterprofcarol/

https://thevineyagency.com/carol-chillington-rutter/

https://theorg.com/org/shakespeare-birthplace-trust/org-chart/carol-chillington-rutter

Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast

Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque

If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours in London with Reign of London:

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/

For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.