Shakespeare's History Plays

We follow the five Tudor monarchs’ struggle to consolidate power in royal hands and forestall a collapse back into the civil wars that ravaged England in the 1400s. Beyond the soap operas of Henry VIII’s marriages or Elizabeth’s love affairs, we consider the real workings of power, money, and propaganda as England rises from a European backwater to a commercial powerhouse and leader of the Protestant world, especially as seen from the viewpoint of the Dudleys, the longest-surviving family of royal consiglieri operating behind the Tudor throne. To hear all patron-only lectures from this podcast as soon as they post, sign on as a patron at any level: https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632 Alternatively, to hear the all of the patron-only lectures on the early modern age, including on Martin Luther, the Reformation, and Spain & Portugal in the age of the Inquisition, you can purchase access to the “Becoming Modern” playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2026824?view=condensed