Join us for series two of History’s Greatest Scandals, where Ellie Cawthorne and Professor Hannah Greig are uncovering the secrets of the Georgian era.
They’ll be following on the trail of forgers, exposing illicit liaisons, meeting cross-dressing celebrity spies and getting involved in some high-stakes gambling, as they search out some of the most salacious stories of the day, and explore what they can reveal about this fascinating period of history.
The swashbuckling escapades of a cross-dressing celebrity spy
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit the remarkable life of the Chevalier D’Eon – whose extraordinary adventures and identity captured the imagination of Georgian Britain
As a celebrity, spy, diplomat and fencing champion, the Chevalier D’Eon had many extraordinary adventures and took on many identities over the course of their long life. But there was one aspect of their story that fascinated the Georgian public more than any other – he question of whether the Chevalier was a man, or a woman. In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne share not just one scandal, but a string of them, as they chart the Chevalier’s swashbuckling escapades.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
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This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
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8 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT
A murderous insurance scam that exposed slavery’s horrors
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne examine the story of the Zong massacre, in which more than 130 enslaved people were murdered – and their deaths claimed on insurance
In the 1780s, an extraordinary insurance claim made its way through Britain’s courts – against the lives of more than 130 enslaved people who had been intentionally thrown overboard a slaving ship in the Caribbean. In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit the notorious Zong massacre, and explore how it exposes the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
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1 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT
The crash the bankrupted Britain
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit the world’s first major financial crash: the South Sea Bubble of 1720
In 1720, would-be speculators were in a frenzy over an irresistible new investment opportunity. Everyone from bankers and barons to ordinary housewives rushed to buy South Sea Company stock, sold on the idea that this was a get-rich-quick scheme that couldn’t go wrong. But, before long, the bubble burst. In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne uncover a story of greed, risk and delusion in the world’s first major financial crash.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
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25 Aug 2025
High society’s most dangerous liaison
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne share the story of an illicit romance with royal connections that kicked off one of the messiest divorce cases of the Georgian age
In a tavern in 1769, aristocrat Henrietta Grosvenor was discovered in a comprising position with a man who was not her husband. Her lover was none other than the king’s own brother – and their illicit affair promptly kicked off one of Georgian Britain’s messiest divorce cases. In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit this 18th-century soap opera and explore what it can tell us high society marriages in the era.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
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18 Aug 2025TRANSCRIPT
The forgers who faked a fortune
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne follow on the trail of a trio of scammers who fooled Georgian high society using fake bonds
In 1775, a respectable lady, a mild-mannered apothecary and his fast-living identical twin stood accused of pulling off a scam that had earnt them a fortune. But as their trial unfolded, the defendants turned on one another, and the plot thickened – who was the real orchestrator of the scheme, and who would hang for it? In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit this sensational courtroom drama, and consider what it can tell us about the Georgian age.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm.
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12 Aug 2025TRANSCRIPT
History's Greatest Scandals Returns!
Join us for series two of History’s Greatest Scandals, where Ellie Cawthorne and Professor Hannah Greig are uncovering the secrets of the Georgian era.
They’ll be following on the trail of forgers, exposing illicit liaisons, meeting cross-dressing celebrity spies and getting involved in some high-stakes gambling, as they search out some of the most salacious stories of the day, and explore what they can reveal about this fascinating period of history.
Follow this feed so you don't miss an episode or subscribe to HistoryExtra Plus to listen early and ad-free. Subscribe here: historyextra.supportingcast.fm
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26 Feb 2025TRANSCRIPT
Introducing History's Greatest Battles | New Podcast
Host Emily Briffett interviews historian Dr. Adrian Goldsworthy about the Roman Empire's most pivotal battles and their impact on history
4 Feb 2025TRANSCRIPT
Corruption down the coalmines
In 1840, an investigation was launched to inspect conditions in Britain’s coalmines. But what the inspectors found down the mines would soon become a national scandal. In this first series of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Rosalind Crone and Ellie Cawthorne uncover some of the most infamous episodes of the Victorian age. In this episode, they descend into Britain’s dark and dangerous coalpits to explore what this case can reveal about dire working conditions and child labour in 19th-century Britain.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d.
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
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28 Jan 2025TRANSCRIPT
The dark heart of Victorian London
In July 1885, the Pall Mall Gazette ran an exposé so shocking that ‘squeamish’ readers were encouraged not to read it. It followed undercover journalist WT Stead on a mission to expose child exploitation in London – and, as it turned out, Stead was prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to get his story. In this first series of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Rosalind Crone and Ellie Cawthorne uncover some of the most infamous episodes of the Victorian age. This episode follows Stead’s incognito investigation – and explores what it can reveal about 19th-century London’s dark underbelly.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d.
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21 Jan 2025TRANSCRIPT
Bone-crushing hunger in Britain’s workhouses
We all know the story of Oliver Twist begging for ‘more’ in the workhouse. But were these institutions really as nasty, grim and brutal as Dickens depicts? In this first series of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Rosalind Crone and Ellie Cawthorne uncover some of the most infamous episodes of the Victorian age. And in this episode, they revisit an investigation into dire workhouse conditions, exploring what it can reveal about attitudes to the poor at the time.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d.
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14 Jan 2025TRANSCRIPT
‘Little pills of sugared death’
Professor Rosalind Crone and Ellie Cawthorne uncover the 19th-century case of accidental poisoning behind Humbug Billy's infamous peppermint lozenges, revealing the prevalence of adulterated food in Victorian society.
7 Jan 2025TRANSCRIPT
The mother of all sex scandals
Divorce cases can be messy. But the epic court battle between Caroline and George Norton in 1836 took things to the next level, with salacious accusations of adultery with none other than the prime minister. In this first series of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Rosalind Crone and Ellie Cawthorne uncover some of the most infamous episodes of the Victorian age. This opening episode delves into the story of one of British history’s most bitter divorce cases, exploring what it can reveal about attitudes to child custody and women’s rights within marriage.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.
You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d.
This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
3 Dec 2024TRANSCRIPT
Introducing History's Greatest Scandals: The Victorians
Historian Ellie Cawthorne explores the darker side of Victorian life with Professor Rosalind Crone, uncovering the biggest scandals of the 19th century and revealing the secrets of the era.
Inside a recent episode
The swashbuckling escapades of a cross-dressing celebrity spy
Published 15 Sept 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] There is a suggestion they are part of a spy network, although they haven't actually given up any real official secrets. So they become something of a celebrity because of these publications and their presentation is a kind of whistleblowing diplomat, but there's even more celebrity to come. So this female persona that the Chevalier adopted on their espionage and their diplomatic missions, can we tell whether it was a ruse to help with spying efforts or whether it was more of a question of identity, more than that? I think it's very difficult to make those judgments retrospectively. All we really know is that Chevalier Dayon was dressing as both a man and a woman and successfully presenting as both sexes. […]
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