Not Just the Tudors

Not Just the Tudors

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks about everything from the Aztecs to witches, Velázquez to Shakespeare, Mughal India to the Mayflower. Not, in other words, just the Tudors, but most definitely also the Tudors. Each episode Suzannah is joined by historians and experts to reveal incredible stories about one of the most fascinating periods in history, new releases every Wednesday and Sunday. A podcast by History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, The Ancients, and Betwixt the Sheets. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

March 4, 2026 62 mins

Was Henry Tudor a tyrant obsessed with control, or a visionary who created peace and prosperity? How did a penniless exile with a tenuous claim to the crown found a dynasty that reshaped the nation? How did he fight off pretenders to the throne?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Sean Cunningham to explore how Henry VII, from unlikely beginnings, stabilized a kingdom torn apart by decades of civil war and laid the foundati...

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Has history been unfair to Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch? Was she weak and easily led, or one of Britain’s most determined and underestimated monarchs?

In this episode of our Restoration series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Queen Anne's biographer Lady Anne Somerset examine a queen whose reputation has long been shaped by caricature.


MORE:

Sister Queens: Mary II and Anne

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How to Run a Stu...

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February 25, 2026 42 mins

In the mist‑shrouded Highlands, a quiet minister dared to trespass into forbidden realms. Convinced that fairies were not mere fables but a hidden nation with laws and lives of their own, Robert Kirk set out to reveal their secrets, and paid a terrible price. When Kirk died suddenly in 1692, locals whispered he had not died at all, but been taken alive into the Fairy Commonwealth for his betrayal.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and his...

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February 22, 2026 53 mins

What does it take to rule as an equal in a man's world? How did a quiet, devout queen help reshape Britain’s monarchy forever?

All this month, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is exploring the Restoration monarchs. In this episode, she focuses on Queen Mary II, England’s first and only joint sovereign, who ruled alongside her husband William of Orange. Far from being a passive partner, Mary was politically astute, deeply devout, and a...

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This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, violence and child abuse. Listener discretion is advised.


How did the mob lynching of a notorious astrologer and occultist in June 1628 act as a grim prelude to the demise of King Charles I? Why did John Lambe - accused of witchcraft, sorcery, and moral corruption - become the target for popular anger at a monarchy seen as distant, corrupt, and unaccountable?

Professor Suzanna...

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A king with unyielding faith. A nation on the brink. A crown lost to revolution.

King James II is often dismissed as the unfortunate monarch swept aside by William and Mary. But behind the Glorious Revolution lies a story of ambition, devotion, and downfall more dramatic than legend would suggest.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb joins Dr. Breeze Barrington to uncover the man behind the myth. Was James a tyrant blinded by belief, or a...

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February 11, 2026 55 mins

Was Henry VIII's fifth wife a promiscuous teenager and then heartless adulteress and schemer? Celebrated, scrutinised, and endlessly talked about at court, Katherine Howard’s reign was dazzlingly brief; within two years of marrying the king, she was accused of adultery and treason and executed.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Gareth Russell and Dr Nicola Clark to get to know the real young woman who was plucked from obscuri...

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February 8, 2026 56 mins

From clinging to a tree while evading capture, his face blackened with soot, to triumphantly sailing home to reclaim his crown — the story of Charles II is one of survival, spectacle, and transformation. 


Professor Suzannah Lipscomb guides us through the Restoration, tracing life in England from the shadow of civil war to the glittering courts of Restoration London, and discovers how intrigue, scandal, plague, and fire gave...

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February 4, 2026 70 mins

After the execution of King Charles I, England became a Republic for the only time in its history. Yet why was this revolutionary moment so short-lived? Why did Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth collapse?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores its rise and demise with a panel of expert historians: Professor Ronald Hutton, Dr. Jonathan Healey and Dr. Miranda Malins. Together they discuss what the Republic's failure reveals about author...

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February 1, 2026 52 mins

Was Mary Tudor truly “Bloody Mary”? Has England’s first reigning queen been misunderstood for centuries? Determined to restore Roman Catholicism, her reign became forever associated with the burning of Protestants. But was she really a religious tyrant, or a trailblazer trapped by Europe's violent politics?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Anna Whitelock to put the record straight on the remarkable reign of Mary I,...

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January 28, 2026 46 mins

What impact did the Tudors have on Ireland, not just in the councils of kings and earls, but in the rhythms of ordinary life? What were the consequences for ordinary citizens when English power was asserted through martial law, low-level coercion and the constant threat of punishment?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr David Edwards to discuss how communities were reshaped from the ground up.


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Ireland's Witchcraf...

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January 25, 2026 48 mins

Why was a Portuguese-born Jewish doctor, who rose to become Elizabeth I’s chief physician, brutally executed for treason in a scandal that shocked England? Was Dr. Rodrigo Lopes truly guilty, or simply caught in the crossfire of anti-Semitism, court rivalries, and empire?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Samia Errazouki to reexamine Lopes’s fall, tracing a web of diplomacy, espionage, and identity that stretched from Lon...

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Could one of art’s greatest mysteries at last be solved? Who was the luminous girl with a pearl earring in Vermeer's iconic painting? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Andrew Graham-Dixon who believes he's finally identified her.


MORE:

Shakespeare's Male Muse: A Mystery Solved?

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A Tudor Mystery: The Girl Who Could Be Queen

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Presented by Professor Suzanna...

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The Pilgrimage of Grace sounds calm, but was in reality a major uprising in the north of England against Henry VIII’s religious and political reforms, including the dissolution of monasteries.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Andy Wood to retell the legend of when tens of thousands of rebels risked their lives to try to restore Catholic practices and influence government policy, rocking the very seat of the King.

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January 14, 2026 67 mins

How much do we really know about William Shakespeare, his wife Anne Hathaway, and the family tragedies that may have shaped the bard's greatest work? This is the premise of Maggie O'Farrell's luminous novel Hamnet, now adapted into a major film starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Maggie O'Farrell about transforming Shakespearean history into unforgettable fiction, and reviews the film with D...

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This episode contains discussions of incest and sexual assault.


Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by historical novelist Elizabeth Fremantle to explore the harrowing story of Beatrice Cenci, a young woman executed in Rome in 1599. They discuss how Beatrice survived an abusive upbringing and her eventual participation in the murder of her father, highlighting the brutal realities faced by women of the 16th century.


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Wh...

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January 7, 2026 44 mins

What happens when a Queen refuses to name her heir? How does she hold her kingdom together when every courtier is secretly preparing for her death? What really unfolded in Elizabeth I’s glittering court as her long reign drew to an end?


Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the unspoken crisis at the heart of Elizabeth I’s rule with Dr. Tracy Borman. Together they discuss how the hidden struggle for succession became one of the m...

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January 4, 2026 48 mins

Was Christopher Marlowe a rebel, a genius, or a heretic ahead of his time? From his plays that shocked Elizabethan England to his brutal murder, Marlowe's short, dazzling life was defined by rivalry, scandals and secrets.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Professor Stephen Greenblatt delve into Marlowe's provocative ideas, his rumoured queerness, and the dangerous brilliance that left an indelible mark on English literature.


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Ma...

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In the early modern period, belief in fairies was quite commonplace. But put all thoughts of Tinkerbell aside! Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Diane Purkiss to find out how these fairies were altogether more dangerous beings - troublemakers, child-snatchers, seducers and changelings.


MORE

Transgender Fairies in Early Modern Literature

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Practical Magic: Spells, Prayers...

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December 28, 2025 52 mins

Why are diamonds black, and how does a triangle show power in Tudor portraits? From Henry VII’s shrewd statecraft to the glittering reign of Elizabeth I, the Tudors projected their power not just through politics, but through visual propaganda, art and objects.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr Christina Faraday, who ventures beyond the Tudor rose and the famous faces painted by Holbein to take us deeper, uncovering how ar...

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