The Rest Is History
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728 episodes
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The French Revolution is one of the great seismic events of global history. A devouring conflagration of bloodshed, violence and utopianism, it changed France and then latterly the whole of Europe forever. Yet, amidst the panoply of colossal, colourful names that defined this cataclysmic event, few have endured as iconically as that of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, who has in many ways come to embody the revolution in the popular imagination. Yet, from the moment of her arrival from Austria at the tender age of fifteen, Marie Antoinette was a contentious figure in France, with rumours circulating throughout her life of her insatiable sexual appetite and frivolity, her sapphic proclivities, and even her vampirism. But who was the real Marie Antoinette - voraciously decadent 'it' girl and snob or a well-meaning but naive scapegoat? Under what circumstances did she come to marry the Dauphin, the future Louis XVI, and to what extent did she truly spark the French Revolution, with her calls to “let them eat cake!”? Join Tom and Dominic for the first instalment of their magnificent sweep through the outbreak and first years of the French Revolution, as they discuss the early life and character of one of its most celebrated and lambasted figures - an icon of style, a beacon of whimsical, bucolic giddiness, a rapacious monster - Marie Antoinette. _______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
728 episodes
477. The French Revolution: The Violence Begins (Part 3)
With seismic antecedents such as the Glorious Revolution in England and the American War of Independence, what was it about the French Revolution that saw it become arguably the most important episode in all early modern political history?…
476. The French Revolution: The Diamond Necklace Scandal (Part 2)
In August 1785 a shocking affair came to light which would prove so detrimental to the reputation and standing of the French King Louis XVI, and more especially his already unpopular wife, Queen Marie Antoinette, that it would become a dec…
475. The French Revolution: Marie Antoinette (Part 1)
The French Revolution is one of the great seismic events of global history. A devouring conflagration of bloodshed, violence and utopianism, it changed France and then latterly the whole of Europe forever. Yet, amidst the panoply of coloss…
474. The Road to The Great War: The Lights Go Out (Part 6)
“The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime”In the early days of August 1914, the British press has become increasingly vocal about the prospect of war breaking out amongst the great European p…
473. The Road to The Great War: The Tsar Chooses War (Part 5)
“We have been forced to draw the sword”.Following the expiry of Austria’s Ultimatum on Saturday 25th July 1914, the Kaiser and the Tsar - friends and cousins, long desirous of peace between their two nations - found themselves in a new and…
472. The Road to The Great War: Britain's Fateful Choice (Part 4)
On the 24th of July 1914, in London, the Liberal British Cabinet met to hear the Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, read them the Ultimatum handed to Serbia by the Austro-Hungarian Empire the day before. The world held its breath, awaitin…
471. The Road to The Great War: The Austrian Ultimatum (Part 3)
On the 20th of July 1914 the heads of state of two great European powers - France and Russia - met in St Petersburg. Little did they know, though they may have suspected, that the Austrians were simultaneously writing up an Ultimatum, and …
470. The Road to The Great War: The Kaiser’s Blank Cheque (Part 2)
In the wake of the cataclysmic assassination of Franz Ferdinand on the 28th of June 1914, in Austria, the long percolating question of what to do about Serbia, reached a climax. At last, they had been handed an opportunity to take decisive…
469. The Road to The Great War: Countdown to Armageddon (Part 1)
By the end of July 1914, the world hovered on the edge of a cataclysmic world war; Austria was at war with Serbia, Russia with Germany, and an ultimatum had been handed to Belgium. The July crisis had resolved itself in the most calamitous…
468. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Crime (Part 4)
Archduke Franz Ferdinand has arrived in Sarajevo for a military inspection, alongside his wife, Sophie, on the 28th of June 1914. Unbeknownst to them, six assassins, including Gavrilo Princip, line the route of the motorcade, from Sarajevo…