Author Mark Beatty joins to explore three Victorians who shaped their era in very different ways yet rarely get the spotlight. We trace Grace Darling’s 1838 sea rescue and the birth of tabloid celebrity; Josephine Butler’s fearless campaign against the Contagious Diseases Acts and for raising the age of consent; and George Biddell Airy’s half-century as Astronomer Royal, standardising Greenwich Mean Time for a world on the move. It’s a conversation about media, morality, science, empire—and how private grief and public purpose can collide.

Mark’s trilogy on Darling, Butler and Airy is out now. If you can, please support independent bookshops or buy direct from the publisher.

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Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.

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