The Rest Is History
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742 episodes
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Twelve months after the dramatic Women’s March on Versailles, the Revolution proper was well into its stride, and while Paris overflowed with a sense of unbridled political freedom, the King and Queen were little more than prisoners in their echoing palace. For the past year Louis XVI had feigned cooperation with the National Assembly, all the while torn by his profound Catholicism and frozen by indecision about how to overcome his predicament. Then at last, following a traumatic experience over the easter of 1791, something changed and the contingency plan formulated several months earlier, was put into action. With the help of a disguised Axen Von Fersen, the royal couple and their children would flee to Belgium in an enormously ostentatious carriage. The date for their escape was set for the 20th of June, but before leaving Louis poured his hatred of the revolution into a letter, which if found would surely spell his political doom…that night the royal family, replete with accomplices, deceptions and disguises, set their audacious plan into action. What ensued was a heart-racing cat-and-mouse thriller of near misses, foolhardy naivety and extraordinary encounters, with appalling consequences…Join Dominic and Tom for the thrilling conclusion to their astounding series on the early years of the French Revolution. With the King and Queen of France on the run from the nightmare their lives have become, will they make it across the border to freedom? Or, will they get caught and devoured by the ravenous hoards of the Revolution? _______Looking for all of our episodes on the French Revolution? Check out The Rest Is History’s French Revolution playlisthttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX6W9e1zgsgaG_______*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York. *The Rest Is History LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall*Tom and Dominic, accompanied by a live orchestra, take a deep dive into the lives and times of two of history’s greatest composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com_______Twitter:@TheRestHistory@holland_tom@dcsandbrookProducer: Theo Young-SmithAssistant Producer: Tabby SyrettExecutive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
742 episodes
491. History's Greatest Beards: From Egyptian Queens to Medieval Conquerors (Part 1)
What did Marcus Aurelius, Jesus, and Ragnar Lothbrok all have in common? Apart from their notorious and symbolic deaths, all three men boasted luscious beards. Throughout history, beards have posed quite the conundrum for all those able to…
490. Hundred Years' War: England Triumphant (Part 4)
St Crispin’s day, 1415: Henry V stands victorious, after a tremendous defeat of the French forces at the Battle of Agincourt. He is just about to make a historic speech which will be retold by Shakespeare nearly two centuries later. There …
489. Hundred Years' War: Bloodbath at Agincourt (Part 3)
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”.The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 endures as perhaps the most totemic battle in the whole of English history. Thanks in part to Shakespeare’s masterful Henry V, the myths and legends of that bloody…
488. Hundred Years' War: The Road to Agincourt (Part 2)
On the 11th of August 1415, King Henry V of England - an austere, pious, thoughtful and terrifying warlord in only his late-twenties - set sail for France. He embarked in the largest ship ever built on English soil at the head of some 15,0…
487. Hundred Years' War: Henry V’s Invasion of France (Part 1)
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends. Once more, we'll close the wall up with our English dead […] And upon this charge, cry God for Harry, England and St. George!”Such was Henry V’s call to arms at the siege of Harfleur, as written by…
486. Henry IV: Warrior Princes and Fat Knights (Part 2)
The year is 1403, and the Usurper King, Henry IV, faces a seemingly insurmountable challenge to his rule. He has been brought the news that his old friend, Harry “Hotspur” Percy, has betrayed him, and plans to lead his army against the Kin…
485. Henry IV: The Usurper King (Part 1)
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown…”Henry IV has been portrayed as both a shadowy, obscure figure, and a strong king who was loved by his people. Prior to ascending the throne, Henry, the son of John of Gaunt, was admired for his gla…
484. The Food that Changed the World
The unexpected evolution of Italian food can serve as a tantalising doorway into some of the greatest moments of Italian history: from medieval monarchs, murdered popes, and the Renaissance, to secret societies, and Mussolini’s fascist pro…
483. The Mysterious Case of the Ape Man
In Sussex, in 1912, men quarrying in a gravel pit near Piltdown village turned up a human skull. According to Charles Dawson, a lawyer and amateur archeologist with a remarkable track record for finding ancient treasures, it belonged to a …
482. The French Revolution: The Royal Family Escapes (Part 8)
Twelve months after the dramatic Women’s March on Versailles, the Revolution proper was well into its stride, and while Paris overflowed with a sense of unbridled political freedom, the King and Queen were little more than prisoners in the…