Travels Through Time

Travels Through Time
  • 4.6 (70)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

In each episode we ask a leading historian, novelist or public figure the tantalising question, ”If you could travel back through time, which year would you visit?” Once they have made their choice, then they guide us through that year in three telling scenes. We have visited Pompeii in 79AD, Jerusalem in 1187, the Tower of London in 1483, Colonial America in 1776, 10 Downing Street in 1940 and the Moon in 1969. Featured in the Guardian, Times and Evening Standard. Presented weekly by Sunday Times bestselling writer Peter Moore.

  1. 18 HR AGO

    Meghan Kobza: The Magnificent Masquerade (1768)

    Few parties in history can match the Georgian 'Masquerade'. And among Georgian masquerades the one given by the King of Denmark in London in 1768 was particularly enchanting. It brought those of the greatest means and highest rank together in London theatre that was filled with artful costumes and glittering jewels. This week's guest, Meghan Kobza, tells us all about the Georgian masquerade – who started it, where did it come from, how much did it cost to get in – and she takes us inside the theatre in 1768. One character who catches her eye is the unfortunate Agneta Yorke whose night turns out to be a comedy of errors. The scenes, characters and storylines in this episode of Travels Through Time all feature in Meghan Kobza's book, The Masquerade A History of Extravagance and Intrigue. Show Notes Scene One: October 1768. At the masquerade habit warehouse scene on Tavistock Street operated by the Spilsburys. Scene Two: October 1768. Getting ready to go out with Agneta Yorke. Scene Three: October 1768. At the King of Denmark's Masquerade. Memento: Agneta Yorke's dress People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore  Guest: Meghan Kobza Producers: Maria Nolan Theme music: Firelight by Minka

    59 min

  2. 21 APR

    Rory Naismith: Offa King of the Mercians (796)

    This week the Cambridge professor Rory Naismith takes us back to the eighth century to glimpse what we can of Offa King of the Mercians. Offa was a mighty figure in this early moment in the history of Britain and he is remembered chiefly for the extraordinary earthwork – Offa's Dyke. But what more can be said about Offa's life? In this episode Naismith explains that he was a ruler of considerable gifts whose reputation stretched far beyond his considerable kingdom. He corresponded with Charlemagne and was connected with the Islamic World and, when he died, he left a great void behind. The scenes, characters and storylines in this episode of Travels Through Time all feature in Rory Naismith's book, Offa: King of the Mercians. Read more about Offa at Unseen Histories. Show Notes Scene One: Offa of Mercia receives a letter from Charlemagne that is one of the first diplomatic exchanges between two Medieval monarchs. Scene Two: 29 July. Offa’s dies. Scene Three: December 796. Offa’s son and heir Ecgfrith dies unexpectedly. Memento: Offa’s side of the correspondence with Charlemagne People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore  Guest: Rory Naismith Producers: Maria Nolan Theme music: Firelight by Minka

    55 min

  3. 14 APR

    Catherine Ostler: The Renoir Girls (1881)

    This week's episode takes us to Paris in La Belle Époque. There, among all the splendour and sophistication, we watch the great Impressionist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painting one of his great portraits. But there is more to this history than first meets the eye. As our guest Catherine Ostler explains, the year 1881 was a critical one in Jewish history. By that point in time Jewish communities were thriving in Paris, where they sought to consolidate their position in society. But a dramatic event in Russia was poised to change everything. The scenes, characters and storylines in this episode of Travels Through Time all feature in Catherine Ostler's book, The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War and Betrayal.  Show Notes Scene One: 19 January 1881. The wedding of Leopold de Rothschild and Marie Perugia in London. Scene Two: January–March 1881. Renoir paints Alice and Elisabeth at the Cahen d'Anvers family house in Paris. Scene Three: 13 March 1881. Tsar Alexander II is assassinated in St Petersburg. Memento: Renoir's Pink and Blue painting. People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore  Guest: Catherine Ostler Producers: Maria Nolan Theme music: Firelight by Minka

    58 min

  4. 7 APR

    [From the Archive] Philip Stephens: Britain Alone (1962)

    As Britain's 'special relationship' with the USA falters, we look back at a very relevant epislode from our archive. In this the author and journalist Philip Stephens takes us back to a crucial month in post-war British politics. December 1962, he explains, set Britain’s relationship with the rest of the world for the next half century. Featuring in this episode is the elderly British prime minister, Harold Macmillan; the charismatic US president John F Kennedy; and the trenchant French statesman Charles de Gaulle. In this one month these three men would set out their contrasting visions of what kind of country Britain would be. The scenes, characters and storylines in this episode of Travels Through Time all feature in Philip Stephen’s book, Britain Alone: the path from Suez to Brexit (Faber) Show Notes Scene One: 5 December 1962. Dean Acheson’s speech to the cadets of the Military Academy at West Point, New York. Scene Two: 15 December. Macmillan's visit to Rambouillet to meet with Charles de Gaulle. Scene Three: 19 December 1962. Macmillan travels to the Bahamas to meet President John F Kennedy. Memento: The text for Dean Acheson’s ‘West Point Speech.’ People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore Guest: Philip Stephens Producers: Maria Nolan

    56 min

  5. 31 MAR

    Nicholas Walton: The End of the Dutch Empire (1950)

    The Netherlands is a small nation with a big history. But in the 1940s it suffered a series of disastrous events. First came the invasion of the Nazis in 1940. Then the very next year the Japanese attacked their old empire in the east. The horrors of World War Two were then followed by the Indonesian National Revolution and, by 1950, the Dutch were a 'pocket superpower' no longer. In this episode the journalist and hiker Nicholas Walton takes us back to examine this challenging moment in Dutch history. It was a time of reckoning with the past but also a moment of bright new beginnings. Nicholas Walton is the author of Orange Sky, Rising Water: The Remarkable Past and Uncertain Future of the Netherlands. Show notes Scene One: 1 January 1950, The dining table of a typical Dutch family. Scene Two: 12 January 1950, The Lloydkade in Rotterdam when troop ships like the SS Waterman, SS Grote Beer and SS Zuiderkruis all were bringing soldiers home to a freezing Netherlands. Scene Three: 26 July 1950. A barracks in Indonesia. This was the official date that the KNIL, the Dutch colonial army, was officially dissolved. Memento: A green/white temporary house as lived in by the Moluccans People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore Guest: Nicholas Walton Production: Maria Nolan Theme music: Firelight by Minka

    56 min

  6. 24 MAR

    Veronica Buckley: The Hapsburgs and the French Revolution (1790)

    The late eighteenth century history was a time in Europe when a brilliant old world collapsed and raucous new one rose to replace it. In this episode the biographer Veronica Buckley explains how the Hapsburgs, one of the great European families, responded to this revolutionary change. It was a stern challenge but inspired by one of the great matriarchs in European history, Empress Maria Theresia, her son Emperor Joseph II, his successor Leopold and their sister, Marie Antoinette, reacted as best they could in that perilous year, 1790. Veronica Buckley is the author of Seven Sisters: Captives and Rebels in Revolutionary Europe's First Family Read an in-depth article about this story on Unseen Histories. Show notes Scene One: 20 February 1790, Emperor Joseph II dies in Vienna Scene Two: October 1790, The French revolutionary Comte de Mirabeau meets with Emperor Leopold II in Frankfurt to discuss a possible intervention in France. Scene Three: November 1790, The Habsburg imperial family arrives in Pressburg for Leopold’s coronation as King of Hungary. Memento: A piece of elegant jewellery belonging to Marie Christine. People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore Guest: Veronica Buckley Production: Maria Nolan Theme music: Firelight by Minka / Mozart - Piano Sonata in B-flat major, III. Allegretto Grazioso performed by Brendan Kinsella

    55 min

  7. 17 MAR

    Marc Mierowsky: Daniel Defoe the English Spy (1706)

    Most people know Daniel Defoe as one of the great writers in the history of English literature. But the author of Robinson Crusoe was much more than that. A rabble rousing pamphleteer and erratic entrepreneur, in the early years of the eighteenth century Defoe also became an undercover political operative. Defoe's career as a spy intersected with a huge moment in British history when the Act of Union between England and Scotland was being planned in 1706. Today's guest, the historian Marc Mierowsky, revisits this time in today's episode – analysing a series of events that were crucial to the genesis of Great Britain  Marc Mierowsky is the author of A Spy Amongst Us.  Show notes Scene One: July 1706. The Cockpit in Whitehall. The Scottish and the English commissioners finally settle on the terms of the treaty for the Act of Union. Scene Two: 23 October 1706. Edinburgh. The treaty has been sent north - it is being debated in the Scottish parliament -- and a riot breaks out. Defoe is a witness to the disorder. Scene Three: December 1706. The west of Scotland. Defoe deploys agent John Pierce to infiltrate the Hebronites. Memento: Daniel Defoe's familiar letters. People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore Guest: Marc Mierowsky Production: Maria Nolan Theme music: Firelight by Minka

    58 min

  8. 10 MAR

    Sean Cunningham: King Henry VII and a Year of Peril (1497)

    Today’s guest, Sean Cunningham, takes us back to a particularly perilous year in the eventful reign of King Henry VII. He explains that 1497 was a year of brinkmanship, battles, plots and disasters that very nearly resulted in the fall of the House of Tudor. Sean Cunningham is Head of Collections, Medieval, Early Modern and Legal, at the National Archives in Kew. He is one of the leading authorities on the life and times of Henry VII – the first of the Tudor monarchs. Often overshadowed by his attention-hogging son (he of the six wives), Henry VII was a formidable operator: wily, quicksilver, determined, restless. He needed all these qualities to survive the multiple threats to his rule. Sean Cunningham is the author of Henry VII: Treason and Trust.  Read an accompanying article about Henry VII at Unseen Histories. Show notes Scene One: August 1497. King James IV of Scotland challenges the Earl of Surrey to single combat. Scene Two: October 1497. Henry VII interviews Perkin Warbeck in Taunton Castle. Scene Three: December 1497. The fire at Sheen Palace. Memento: The original manuscript of Perkin Warbeck's confession. People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore Guest: Sean Cunningham Production: Maria Nolan Theme music: Firelight by Minka

    58 min
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About

In each episode we ask a leading historian, novelist or public figure the tantalising question, ”If you could travel back through time, which year would you visit?” Once they have made their choice, then they guide us through that year in three telling scenes. We have visited Pompeii in 79AD, Jerusalem in 1187, the Tower of London in 1483, Colonial America in 1776, 10 Downing Street in 1940 and the Moon in 1969. Featured in the Guardian, Times and Evening Standard. Presented weekly by Sunday Times bestselling writer Peter Moore.

Information

  • Creator
    Travels Through Time
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    102
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Travels Through Time

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