The History Forum Past Talks

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Series 6

‘Here We Make Italy’: The Risorgimento
Sunday 8 December, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Dr Ross King

The History of the Bubonic Plague
Sunday 1 December, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Paul Chrystal

Not Just Napoleon and Jane Austen: Lesser Known Episodes From the Year 1815
Sunday 24 November, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

Historical Inaccuracies of Napoleon (the movie)
Sunday 3 November, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Jem Duducu

Series 5

A Crystal Vision of Victorian Britain: The Great Exhibition of 1851
Sunday 20 October, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Dr Simon Wenham

The Duchess of Well-Being: Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough’s Pursuit of Health and Happiness
Sunday 6 October, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

Odd Men and Necessary Women – Servants of a Great Palace
Sunday 22 September, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Antonia Keaney

Blenheim Palace: A Duke, a Battle and a Palace
Sunday 8 September, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

Series 4

‘The Drink that Cheers but Doesn’t Intoxicate’: How the English Fell in Love with Tea
Sunday 28 April, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

After the Gold Rush: My Californian Mining Adventure (140 years too late)
Sunday 14 April, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Jeremy Burton
There is no recording of this talk.

English Prophets Without Honour: Mother Shipton, Joanna Southcott and John Wroe
Sunday 24 March, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

Frenemies in Iberia: The Story of Spain v. Portugal
Sunday 10 March, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Professor David T. Gies

Series 3

Rude, Lewd and Crude: Literature of the English Spa
Sunday 25 February, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

Female Gladiators in Ancient Rome
Sunday 18 February, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Dr Ross King

Buxton’s ‘Bluebirds’: The Great War, Shell Shock and Canadian Nurses
Sunday 4 February, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

Bonfire Of History: The Lost Treasures, Trophies and Trivia of Madame Tussaud’s Exhibition
Sunday 14 January, 2024, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Christopher Joll

Series 2

Highlights of the British Museum
Sunday 10 December, 2023, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Loona Hazarika

Agent Sonya: Stalin’s Spy in Oxford
Sunday 26 November, 2023, 7pm (GMT)
GUEST SPEAKER: Emeritus Professor Anthony Glees

Spy Hard with a Vengeance: The Curious Case of Mrs Stan Harding
Sunday 19 November, 2023, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

Series 1

Hydrotherapy: Three Weeks in Wet Sheets
Sunday 8 October, 2023, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

A Lot of Hot Air: How the English Fell in Love with Sweating
Sunday 1 October, 2023, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

From Spaw to Spa: The Making of Bath
Monday 25 September, 2023, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King

‘What Ever Did the Romans Do For Us?’: Bathing for Health and Pleasure
Sunday 17 September, 2023, 7pm (GMT)
SPEAKER: Melanie King