HistoryExtra Long Reads

In January 1924, Ramsay MacDonald entered 10 Downing Street as Britain’s first Labour prime minister. As Richard Toye reveals in today's Long Read, MacDonald's rapid rise stunned his rivals, but it wasn’t long before they were preparing their revenge...HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the January 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recently, we marked the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio, a collection of plays by William Shakespeare. To celebrate this landmark in literary history, in today's Long Read, eight historical experts offer their takes on what the Bard's plays reveal about enduring themes including love, death, power and money.HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the January 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bloomsbury Group transformed British culture in the early 20th century – and its impact can still felt across the world today. So, how did this small set of artists, writers and thinkers become so influential? In today's Long Read, Frances Spalding argues that the answer lies in the strong bonds between its members.HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the January 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can brutal murders reveal about society at the time they were committed? And what additional insights can we gain when those killings were committed by women? In today's Long Read, Rosalind Crone, historical consultant on the BBC series Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley, reveals what six murder cases can tell us about women’s lives in the 19th century.HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the January 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julius Caesar's murder is often seen as the event that ushered in the age of emperors. Yet, argues Shushma Malik in today's Long Read, structural weaknesses had plagued Rome's republic long before his death.HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For some servicemen hardened by a long military career, death in battle is preferable to simply fading away in old age. In this Long Read, Joshua Levine tells the story of one such man, a retired naval officer who leapt bravely back into the fray during the Second World War – at the age of 70.HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matilda of Scotland, wife of Henry I, did perhaps more than any other figure to bridge the chasm between the Anglo-Saxons and their Norman conquerors. So why, asks Joanna Arman in this Long Read, has she been written out of history?HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Boston Tea Party is often cited as a model of peaceful civil protest. But, as Elinor Evans reveals in today's Long Read, on the 250th anniversary of this milestone in America's foundational story, it occurred against a backdrop of bloodshed.HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1969, everyone from Prince Michael of Kent to Billy Butlin competed in a dash between London and New York aboard tandems, sedan chairs and jump jets. In this Long Read, Rachel Harris-Gardiner recalls a madcap forerunner of BBC's popular reality competition Race across the World.HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From dodging deceitful street hustlers and menacing bandits to dealing with the looming threat of food poisoning, sea sickness and even death, medieval travel could be a dangerous business. In today’s Long Read, Anthony Bale offers eight sage pieces of advice for those planning to pack their bags and embark on a journey to a foreign land in the Middle Ages. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices