“You have shaken off the yoke of your despots, but surely this was not to bend the knee before a... more

Welcome to Season 2 of The French Revolution! Revolutionary fervour threatens to engulf the streets of Paris, as demonstrators have gathered... more

In the aftermath of Boudicca’s uprising, the Romans felt they could not withdraw from the British Isles. They sent their... more

“Two cities were sacked, eighty thousand of the Romans and of their allies perished, and the island was lost to... more

Viewed as an idiot by those around him, Claudius felt the need to prove himself. In the century since Caesar... more

Julius Caesar saw the Britons as brutal savages. Yet the Romans romanticised their lack of civilisation, deeming them as untainted... more

After lying in state in an open casket, Evita’s corpse is taken down to a secret laboratory in the basement.... more

The workaholic mother of a nation, Evita’s health deteriorates and she faints at a public event. A self-proclaimed martyr, she... more

“There is only one man who can lead any worker’s regime.” Together, Eva and Colonel Perón built a political movement powered... more

An admirer of Hitler and Mussolini, Colonel Perón rose through the ranks during the 1943 military coup in Argentina. Following... more

“Don’t cry for me Argentina, the truth is I never left you.” Few political figures have been both hailed as... more

It’s August 1944: the Liberation of Paris is underway, and France appears to slowly be extricating herself from Nazi control.... more

“I like an Englishman to look like an Englishman, and beards are foreign and breed vermin. Also depend upon it,... more

What did Marcus Aurelius, Jesus, and Ragnar Lothbrok all have in common? Apart from their notorious and symbolic deaths, all... more

St Crispin’s day, 1415: Henry V stands victorious, after a tremendous defeat of the French forces at the Battle of... more

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”. The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 endures as perhaps the most totemic... more

On the 11th of August 1415, King Henry V of England - an austere, pious, thoughtful and terrifying warlord in... more

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends. Once more, we'll close the wall up with our English dead […] And... more

The year is 1403, and the Usurper King, Henry IV, faces a seemingly insurmountable challenge to his rule. He has... more

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown…” Henry IV has been portrayed as both a shadowy, obscure figure, and a... more

The unexpected evolution of Italian food can serve as a tantalising doorway into some of the greatest moments of Italian... more

In Sussex, in 1912, men quarrying in a gravel pit near Piltdown village turned up a human skull. According to... more

Twelve months after the dramatic Women’s March on Versailles, the Revolution proper was well into its stride, and while Paris... more

By the summer of 1789 the different sections of the Revolution were at loggerheads, and the recently created National Assembly... more

“Liberté, égalité, fraternité!” Alongside violence, the French Revolution is a story of principles and values. It is the ultimate intersection of brutality and... more

“It was violence that made the revolution revolutionary”. The storming of the Bastille is viewed by many across the world as... more

In the summer of 1788, a monstrous storm swept across France, wiping out the crucial wheat harvest. With the nation... more

With seismic antecedents such as the Glorious Revolution in England and the American War of Independence, what was it about... more

In August 1785 a shocking affair came to light which would prove so detrimental to the reputation and standing of... more

The French Revolution is one of the great seismic events of global history. A devouring conflagration of bloodshed, violence and... more

“The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime” In the early... more

“We have been forced to draw the sword”. Following the expiry of Austria’s Ultimatum on Saturday 25th July 1914, the Kaiser... more

On the 24th of July 1914, in London, the Liberal British Cabinet met to hear the Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward... more

On the 20th of July 1914 the heads of state of two great European powers - France and Russia -... more

In the wake of the cataclysmic assassination of Franz Ferdinand on the 28th of June 1914, in Austria, the long... more

By the end of July 1914, the world hovered on the edge of a cataclysmic world war; Austria was at... more

Archduke Franz Ferdinand has arrived in Sarajevo for a military inspection, alongside his wife, Sophie, on the 28th of June... more

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, as heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was one of the most important men in the world. But... more

Gavrilo Princip, having been sent to school in Sarajevo, has become mixed up with the wrong crowd, and is now... more

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to one of the world’s greatest empires, in June 1914, set in motion... more

To coincide with the re-release of Dynasty in audiobook, now with Tom Holland himself narrating, we have the book’s introduction... more

From the turn of the 20th century, election campaigns - though still replete with politicians behaving badly - have evolved.... more

"Good God I am shot! I shall die!" The colourful kaleidoscope of British elections from 1265 to their early 20th century... more

The image of Saint George astride his horse, sword and spear in hand, slaying a dragon, is one of the... more

"When dragons flew to war… everything burned. I do not wish to rule over a kingdom of ash and bone." Dragons... more

To coincide with the re-release of Rubicon in audiobook, now with Tom Holland himself narrating it, we have the book’s... more

In 972AD a princess of the Byzantine Empire was sent by her uncle, the Roman emperor in Constantinople, to marry... more

"His clothes seemed to melt into each other with the perfection of their cut and the quiet harmony of their... more

In 1870 the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann - a man of remarkable energy, desperately fascinated with Helen of Troy -... more

The story of Helen of Troy, her remarkable birth and her infamous love affair with Paris, the Trojan prince, resounds... more

"I will bury my heart, at Wounded Knee" With Native American culture in free fall in the years following their triumph... more

Following the tragic death of Crazy Horse and the ruthless cessation of the Sioux way of life, the last of... more

Though the Battle of the Little Bighorn seemed for the triumphant Lakota and their allies - the largest gathering of... more

What happened between the moment that George A. Custer dispatched a trumpeter with his famous final plea for back-up, and... more

“You and I are going home today, and by a trail that is strange to us both…” The Battle of The... more

The U.S. was cast into a spiralling panic following the economic depression of 1873, and waves of paramilitary violence swept... more

In the wake of the barbaric Washita River massacre, George Custer found himself drifting; addicted to gambling, at odds with... more

"What would you do if your home was attacked? You would stand up like a brave man and defend it.... more

Of all the great characters entangled in the story of George A. Custer and the American Indian Wars, few are as... more

With the American Civil War coming to a close in April 1865, George Custer, cavalry commander in the Union army,... more

“Come on, you Wolverines!” The story of the American Indian Wars of 1862-68 is an enthralling tale of hubris, politics, recklessness,... more

The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the Habsburg dynasty's mightiest ruler, was at once King of Spain, Archduke of Austria,... more

"The First Emperor will die and his land will be divided….” The First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, left behind... more

Rumours surrounding Lord Byron’s scandalous divorce rippled throughout the world. Finally, he had no choice but to abandon England in... more

Good God I am surely in hell! Upon Lord Byron’s return to England and the publication of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, he became... more

By 1809, Lord Byron found himself untethered and debt-ridden. Disenchanted with politics, frustrated by his literary career and haunted by... more

Few lives from history can have contained as many strange and exciting strands as that of Lord Byron's, whose story... more

Music for sex, dancing, and watching the straight world go by… The explosion of Disco provides an extraordinary window into... more

“We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the... more

“I think there is not a devil left in hell, they have all gone into the peasants… smite, stab and... more

"I cannot and will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.…Here I stand, I... more

Three years on from Martin Luther’s publication of the Ninety-Five Theses - a shocking attack on the corruption of the... more

Martin Luther is one of the few people to have genuinely changed the world, igniting a religious revolution that tore... more

The Reformation, launched in 1517, stands as one of the most convulsive and transformative events of all time, shattering Christendom... more

"Then it is I drown again, with all those dim lost faces I never understood… Include me in your lamentations.” The... more

“A story of horror unparalleled in the annals of the Sea.” On the 14th of April 1912, Titanic, a floating palace... more

It is Sunday the 14th of April 1912, and the passengers of the Titanic, from the tycoons in first class... more

The drama and tragedy of the Titanic’s sinking has spawned all manner of myths about those who left Southampton on... more

The Titanic was a product of the furious competition of the late Gilded Age, and no expenses were spared to... more

"There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by... more

Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work, worthy the interposition of a deity. More humble, and I believe... more

‘For if a person fatigued with long and hard labour, or with a violent agitation of the mind, takes a... more

In the third century BC, a clash which had been brewing for centuries finally erupted: Rome, the ruthless imperialist upstart... more

“Every man is the architect of his own destiny” Long before Rome reigned over the Mediterranean, there was Carthage: the supreme... more

“An aristocratic republic, secret and well-ordered, where individuals are subject to the harsh laws of the austere and disciplined rich…” The... more

“Carthago delenda est.” Carthage must be destroyed: this was the rallying cry of Cato the Elder, the senator endlessly pushing for... more

The horrific Guildford Pub Bombings of Saturday 5th October 1974 sent shockwaves through Britain, worsening the sense of crisis sweeping... more

Following a tumultuous election in February 1974, Labour’s Harold Wilson has been re-elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Wilson,... more

Three days after one of the most devastating IRA attacks launched upon British soil, the Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath... more

“Who governs Britain?” Britain in the early 1970’s was a state in crisis, and by 1974, things had never seemed bleaker.... more

Geoffrey Chaucer stands as a founding father of English literature, and ‘The Canterbury Tales’ is an enthralling account of his... more

“For within the hollow crown that rounds the hollow temple of a king...” Richard II, son of the dashing Black Prince... more

On the 13th of June 1381, the rebel army of English peasants, led by Wat Tyler, entered London and brought... more

By the late 14th century, England was in decline. Already weakened by the Hundred Years’ War, both Edward III and... more

Extolling his love for democracy, the Senator took on autocratic powers, during a time of emergency, to save the Republic.... more

In the late 17th century, during the glorious reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, France was at its apogee,... more

By November 1938 the scene in Germany was at its darkest yet, as the full scale of Hitler’s intentions for... more

As Hitler ramps up the German war machine, he remains obsessed with one idea: uprooting Jews from the Reich. The... more

“We must have a healthy people to dominate in the world”. In July 1933, Hitler’s Nazi party passed a new law... more

By 1937, Hitler’s ever-growing ambitions were driving Europe to the brink of war. Ever restless, he knew that Germany must... more

“No one can doubt that this world will one day be the scene of dreadful struggles for existence on the... more

“We did not lose the war because our artillery gave out, but because the weapons of our mind didn’t fire” In... more

“Hitler had entered Röhm’s bedroom alone with a whip in his hand. Behind him had stood two detectives holding pistols,... more

A Pope of great renown once reigned during chaotic years for the medieval Church: she was an extraordinary figure, from... more

“The Church was anxious to draw the attention of its members away from the old pagan feast days, and the... more

On the 8th of June 1948, the HMT Windrush sailed from Kingston with almost 500 migrants on board, destined for... more

In 1854, the twenty-five year old aristocrat Roger Tichborne, heir to an impressive fortune, died in a shipwreck ....Or... more

The Battle for Italy in 1943 proved to be one of the bloodiest and most brutal episodes of the Second... more

In this landmark edition of The Rest is History, Dominic and Tom reveal the astonishing solution to the mystery that has... more

“We can’t accept very comfortably that two nobodies, two nothings - Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby - were able... more

“Jack, you son of a bitch, don’t do it!” Just hours after President Kennedy’s assassination, in the full glare of the... more

It’s 12:31pm on Friday 22nd November 1963, and in Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy lies slumped against his screaming... more

“It wouldn't be very difficult to kill the president of the United States, you just have to be in a... more

By the late 1950s, John F. Kennedy was a rich and handsome Democratic senator with a beautiful wife and young... more

“There were a lot of people who wanted Kennedy dead, a lot of powerful people. There are secrets still being... more

Tenochtitlan, once the glittering jewel at the heart of the mighty Aztec Empire, has fallen. Hernán Cortés stands triumphant, the... more

"Conquer or die indeed, Cortes thought… The hour of decision was at hand…" It is the spring of 1521 and the... more

Things have never looked bleaker for Hernán Cortés and his band of Spaniards. They are trapped, starving and terrified in... more

“The blood flowed like water…” It is 1520 and word has reached Hernán Cortés in Tenochtitlan that another group of Spaniards... more

The year is 1519. Hernán Cortés and his Spanish comrades have arrived in Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztecs,... more