The swashbuckling escapades of a cross-dressing celebrity spy
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit the remarkable life of the Chevalier D’Eon – whose extraordinary adventures and identity captured the imagination of Georgian Britain
As a celebrity, spy, diplomat and fencing champion, the Chevalier D’Eon had many extraordinary adventures and took on many identities over the course of their long life. But there was one aspect of their story that fascinated the Georgian public more than any other – he question of whether the Chevalier was a man, or a woman. In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne share not just one scandal, but a string of them, as they chart the Chevalier’s swashbuckling escapades.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
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A murderous insurance scam that exposed slavery’s horrors
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne examine the story of the Zong massacre, in which more than 130 enslaved people were murdered – and their deaths claimed on insurance
In the 1780s, an extraordinary insurance claim made its way through Britain’s courts – against the lives of more than 130 enslaved people who had been intentionally thrown overboard a slaving ship in the Caribbean. In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit the notorious Zong massacre, and explore how it exposes the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The crash the bankrupted Britain
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit the world’s first major financial crash: the South Sea Bubble of 1720
In 1720, would-be speculators were in a frenzy over an irresistible new investment opportunity. Everyone from bankers and barons to ordinary housewives rushed to buy South Sea Company stock, sold on the idea that this was a get-rich-quick scheme that couldn’t go wrong. But, before long, the bubble burst. In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne uncover a story of greed, risk and delusion in the world’s first major financial crash.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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High society’s most dangerous liaison
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne share the story of an illicit romance with royal connections that kicked off one of the messiest divorce cases of the Georgian age
In a tavern in 1769, aristocrat Henrietta Grosvenor was discovered in a comprising position with a man who was not her husband. Her lover was none other than the king’s own brother – and their illicit affair promptly kicked off one of Georgian Britain’s messiest divorce cases. In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit this 18th-century soap opera and explore what it can tell us high society marriages in the era.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The forgers who faked a fortune
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne follow on the trail of a trio of scammers who fooled Georgian high society using fake bonds
In 1775, a respectable lady, a mild-mannered apothecary and his fast-living identical twin stood accused of pulling off a scam that had earnt them a fortune. But as their trial unfolded, the defendants turned on one another, and the plot thickened – who was the real orchestrator of the scheme, and who would hang for it? In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit this sensational courtroom drama, and consider what it can tell us about the Georgian age.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm.
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Join us for series two of History’s Greatest Scandals, where Ellie Cawthorne and Professor Hannah Greig are uncovering the secrets of the Georgian era.
They’ll be following on the trail of forgers, exposing illicit liaisons, meeting cross-dressing celebrity spies and getting involved in some high-stakes gambling, as they search out some of the most salacious stories of the day, and explore what they can reveal about this fascinating period of history.
USA