Category: EPISODES

MINISODE 015 TITLES & TIARA’S

2019-09-12 age-of-victoria 00:47:38 0 Comments

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Are you confused about your Lords & Dukes? Want to know why the Baron is always popping up? Wondering just what is the Duchy of Lancaster and why its so important? Want to know your Earls from your Marchioness’s? Worried about who gets to get to lead the dinner party when an Earl & a Prince pop over?

This minisode covers

The orders & rankings of the nobility & peerage

The role of the Queen

The Prince Consort

Details of the peerage

The baronets & knights

How to get into the peerage

Some notable cock ups

Historical exceptions designed to drive your host round the twist.

[also while I have used a lot of sources for this show, I highly recommend Elegant Etiquette in the Nineteenth Century by Mallory James; she’s written a fabulous & highly entertaining book]

Sources

Debretts Guide to the Peerage

Burkes Peerage

Steinbech, S “Understanding the Victorians”

McCahill, Michael W. “Peerage Creations and the Changing Character of the British Nobility, 1750-1830.” The English Historical Review, vol. 96, no. 379, 1981, pp. 259–284.

Hanham, H. J. “The Sale of Honours in Late Victorian England.” Victorian Studies, vol. 3, no. 3, 1960, pp. 277–289.

James, Mallory. “Elegant Etiquette in the C19th”

Follow the show on Facebook on our Facebook Page or in the Facebook group for Victorian trivia or the latest news.

You can listen on iTunes and subscribe for free to get all the latest episodes, or even leave me a review. The show is also on Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean and you can also listen via the website at ageofvictoriapodcast.com. Don’t forget to tell your friends.

Support the show, and get an exclusive episode on Patreon at [https://www.patreon.com/user?u=19744898]

EP022 Politics – The Tories & the battle for Catholic Emancipation

2019-09-01 age-of-victoria 00:43:49 0 Comments

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This episode on the Tories & the Battle for Catholic Emancipation continue our breakdown of the complex political system in the 1820’s & 1830’s to show you how it all fits together. If you want to know about the reasons why the British struggled with Catholics, and why the Tories always seemed to be fighting against reform, then this is the episode for you.

This episode covers

The state of politics in 1820-1830

The definitions of a political party

Famous figures of the Tory old guard

The death of Castlereagh and the rise of the Duke of Wellington

The problem of Catholics & the Crown

Our old frenemy the Prince Regent/George IV makes a cameo

The battle over the Catholic Emancipation

The personal impact on the Young Victoria.

Follow the show on Facebook on our Facebook Page or in the Facebook group for Victorian trivia or the latest news.

You can listen on iTunes and subscribe for free to get all the latest episodes, or even leave me a review. The show is also on Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean and you can also listen via the website at ageofvictoriapodcast.com. Don’t forget to tell your friends.

EP021 Politics 101 The System in the 1820s/30s

2019-08-01 age-of-victoria 00:53:48 0 Comments

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Politics 101 is here. Every wondered if the Queen of England has any real power? Confused by your MP’s, PM’s and Lords Spiritual? Wondering how it all works in the UK if the Constitution isn’t written down? Unsure if Queen Victoria could just give out the orders? Today’s show breaks down the complex political system in the 1820’s & 1830’s to show you how it all fits together, and to give a glympse into the old world of politics as it stood on the last few years before Victoria became Queen, and the great reform act of 1832.

If you want to know how and why things worked the way they did in the UK, this show is for you because it gives you the framework and the start point to understand what went on, with whom, and why!

Follow the show on Facebook on our Facebook Page or in the Facebook group for Victorian trivia or the latest news.

You can listen on iTunes and subscribe for free to get all the latest episodes, or even leave me a review. The show is also on Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean and you can also listen via the website at ageofvictoriapodcast.com. Don’t forget to tell your friends.

Support the show on Patreon at [https://www.patreon.com/user?u=19744898]

2ND Anniversary Special (pt2) – Charles Peace, Master of Disguise

2019-07-01 age-of-victoria 00:49:55 0 Comments

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What makes a master criminal? That type of person who goes beyond the normal petty crime or brute violence. Charles Peace was one of the most notorious criminals in the Victorian age, but why? He didn’t kill many people, or steal the crown jewels, or overthrow a government.

He had that special star quality the newspapers loved though. He was a master of disguise, constantly escaped the police, lived a double life and even had a horde of buried treasure. But what the Victorian’s loved MOST was his sensational trial for murder…..

Join me as we learn about the real Charles Peace. He was a brilliant actor. An intelligent, ruthless, ingenious and talented man. He also a killer and a twisted stalker. The papers made him a celebrity criminal, but underneath he became what he was called – “the very devil”

Follow the show on Facebook on our Facebook Page or in the Facebook group for Victorian trivia or the latest news.

You can listen on iTunes and subscribe for free to get all the latest episodes, or even leave me a review. The show is also on Spotify, or listen via the website at ageofvictoriapodcast.com

Support the show on Patreon at [https://www.patreon.com/user?u=19744898]

2nd anniversary special – our first murder?

2019-06-01 age-of-victoria 0:47:44 0 Comments

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Happy 2nd Anniversary This is my look back on the last two years, a lot of thank you’s, some listener questions and our first murder?

Two years of podcasts. Time to celebrate with a Victorian murder; you’ve all been asking for one for ages, so here you are.

Don’t forget to make some cake and drink some tea whilst you listen as we:

1. start with thank you’s and reflections on the last two years.

2. then a few listener questions.

3 . cover a murder that shocked the Victorians; a murder that showed how fast the Victorian police could investigate a crime, cover a little bit of the trial, then finally the impact of prison. Oh and that tiny little thing that changed it all…….

You can listen on iTunes, or on Spotify, or via the website at ageofvictoriapodcast.com

Support the show on Patreon at

Useful links:

MINISODE 014 FILM REVIEW “VICTORIA THE GREAT”

2019-05-14 age-of-victoria 00:32:58 0 Comments

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I’ve launched a Patreon and I review our first film about Queen Victoria – Victoria the Great. I also read out the latest iTunes reviews.

The show starts with the announcement about Patreon and the various tiers. Then I remind listeners to send in questions for the upcoming 2nd anniversary special. The middle of the show is a run down of how I will do film/TV series/book reviews and an evaluation of whether historical accuracy is important. This is followed by a short review of Victoria the Great. Finally there’s the run through of listener reviews.

Love to hear your feed back at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or leave a comment in the Facebook Page or Group (Age of Victoria).

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends, tweet or spread the word to people who might enjoy the show. Also support the show on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=19744898

EP020 PT2 WHY EDUCATE A QUEEN & WHAT SHE LEARNT

2019-05-01 age-of-victoria 00:51:42 1 Comment

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In Ep20 pt 2 we continue our journey through Queen Victoria’s childhood education. Pt2 explores the specifics of education, what she learnt, and crucially, how her education would fit her into the increasingly strict and complex Victorian class system. It wasn’t easy being “the girl who will be Queen.” It also covers her relationship with her ally and mentor Uncle Leopold, King of Belgium.

If you have any questions/feedback, you can email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com

Support the show on Patreon

EP020(pt1) Why educate a Queen?

2019-04-03 age-of-victoria 00:35:55 0 Comments

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In Ep20 pt 1 we continue our journey through Queen Victoria’s childhood. In this 2 part show you will see how Victoria was educated; as a child, but also as a future Queen. She joined an elite group of people who could read and write, but she had a huge weight of expectation to live up to.

Ep20 pt1 explores the philosophy of education to see why a Queen needed to be educated. It sets her education in the context of the 1820’s/1830’s and compares it to the experience of regular children. It also covers how this fitted in with the arrival of Victoria’s governess, and long term ally, Louise Lehzen. It wasn’t easy to educate a queen, but then again education was a rare thing.

If you have any questions/feedback, you can email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com

EP019 Queen Victoria’s childhood pt1 “Life can be fragile”

2019-03-01 age-of-victoria 00:59:02 0 Comments

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Join your host Chris Fernandez-Packham for the first part of our series on Queen Victoria’s childhood. She was growing up at a time when life was fragile at best for children; between disease, poverty and murder, reaching adulthood was not guaranteed. Victoria had to face, an uncle who wanted to usurp the throne, a power hungry mother, and a corrupt household advisor called Sir John Conroy who hungered for money and power…..

Love to hear your feed back at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or leave a comment in the Facebook Group (Age of Victoria).

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends, tweet or spread the word to people who might enjoy the show.

EP018 Early days

2019-02-01 age-of-victoria 00:50:03 0 Comments

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Join your host Chris Fernandez-Packham and discover how Victoria is dealt the first tragedy in her life. Learn about the perils and power of being a Duchess. Plus we meet the abusive and magnetic John Conroy, a man of ambition and secrets. We also witness the death of a King and Victoria’s slow, unlikely, but inevitable climb towards the throne. But before she got there, she would have to survive the abusive Kensington system and learn that trust is a dangerous luxury for royalty.

Love to hear your feed back at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or leave a comment in the Facebook Page orGroup (Age of Victoria).

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends, tweet or spread the word to people who might enjoy the show.

AOV CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2018 “Of traditions and ghosts”

2018-12-25 age-of-victoria 01:38:55 0 Comments

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Merry Christmas, join your host Chris Fernandez-Packham in learning about Victorian Traditions of the Earthly and Ghostly kind. Let me take you on a trip through history, busting myths about Christmas Trees, explaining how traditions came to be, some great events at Christmas, and of course a fireside story…..if you are brave enough.

Love to hear from you either at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or via Twitter @ageofvictoria, or on the Age of Victoria Facebook group. Subscribe for free on iTunes. Don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes and tell your friends to tune in.

You can listen on iTunes, via the website, or on Google, or your favourite podcast app.

EP017 A Queen (Victoria) is born

2018-12-03 age-of-victoria 00:37:11 0 Comments

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We meet Queen Victoria at last.

This episode covers George III, the Prince Regent, the royal family tree, the succession, the death of Princess Charlotte, Victoria’s parents – The Duke & Duchess of Kent, her birth and finally her Christening & the origins of her name. There’s a fully transcript for the episode HERE

Love to hear from you at

ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or at the Facebook page/group or on Twitter. If you like the show, subscribe for free, and tell your friends.

MINI013 The One With The Recap

2018-11-23 age-of-victoria 00:16:47 0 Comments

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This minisode gives a recap of the key themes in the show since launch as we get ready for a major Victorian event. (and no this isn’t like the Simpsons playing clips of old episodes in a ropey season 18 TV special). This show is a great chance to remind yourself of the real building block events that unleashed the Victorian age.

Also included is a community segment with reviews and listener emails.

Finally we wrap up with the plan for the future structure of the show for the early Victorian era in the year ahead.

Feel free to contact me at

ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or on Facebook or Twitter.

EP016 PETERLOO MASSACRE; BRITAIN’S NADIR

2018-11-09 age-of-victoria 01:08:16 0 Comments

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Join your host Chris Fernandez-Packham and explore the Peterloo Massacre 1819; one of the darkest moments of British political & social history. From poverty & hope to anger and death.

This episode starts with a outline of the situation in Britain in 1819, and themes of progress. It sets out the difference in mindsets to show how the working world view was so different from the world view of the establishment.

Then we see the organisation of the protest of Peterloo, the establishments planned response, and the problems with the planning. We then look at the events on the day and how a plan worked too well, leading to horror at Peterloo. Finally we look at the aftermath, and the longer term effects of this seminal event in the history of the labour & social rights movement.

If you want to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com, follow me on twitter @ageofvictoria, visit the website at www.ageofvictoriapodcast.com. The show also has a facebook page and group. Just search for Age of Victoria. Don’t forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, it takes less time than making a coffee. You can also subscribe for free on most major podcast apps. To support the show on Patreon, either CLICK HERE you can go to Patreon and search for Age of Victoria podcast or my name. Take care and bye for now.

EP015 MT TAMBORA PT3: EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FROZE TO DEATH

2018-10-02 age-of-victoria 00:44:15 0 Comments

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The fledgling United States is hit by freezing storms as the fall out from Mt Tambora continues to wreck havoc around the world. Then we turn to Switzerland and see how the darkness gives rise to the great gothic work of Frankenstein.

In this episode we cover

Climate science in the USA
The early colonial economy
The oncoming storms
Impact and drivers of migration
Situation on mainland Europe
The fateful party: Lord Byron, Mary Shelly and company.
The Romantic and the Gothic.

If you enjoy the show, you can reach me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or on Facebook or on Twitter @ageofvictoria

Or visit the website www.ageofvictoriapodcast.com

MINI012 PRINCESS ALICE DISASTER

2018-09-21 age-of-victoria 00:58:27 0 Comments

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Join your host Chris Fernandez-Packham in a detailed investigation of the Princess Alice disaster on the Thames in Sept 1878, the horror of her sinking, and Victorian Londons reaction.

This show covers

The geography of the River Thames

London then and now

The ships involved

The fatal mistakes

Who were the Victims and the Survivors?

The rescue attempts

The clean up after the disaster

The legal enquiries

Consequences

If you got any comments or want to get in touch email

ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com

or find me on twitter @ageofvictoria

or on Facebook.

EP 014 DARKNESS FALLS: MT TAMBORA PT2

2018-09-02 age-of-victoria 00:50:55 0 Comments

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Mt Tambora has devastated huge area’s in the Pacific. Now its global impact begins to be felt. In this latest monthly narrative show your host, Chris Fernandez-Packham, explores the enormous impact on the British mainland and Ireland in 1816 as the Year Without Summer Begins to bite.

Topic outline

Volcanoes and climate science.

C19th Weather and climate science.

The labour market and politics in Britain in 1815

The edge of revolution.

The year without summer hits the economy

Slow stabilisation.

1816 begins in Ireland

The Irish political and economic situation

A companions of the famines: 1816 vs 1845

Typhus and poor relief

An unhappy ending in Britain and Ireland.

Love to hear from you at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com, or on Facebook (search for Age of Victoria), or on Twitter. Don’t forget you can subscribe for free on iTunes or leave a review.

MINI011 VICTORIAN GIN – EMPIRE & RUIN

2018-08-17 age-of-victoria 00:48:49 0 Comments

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Roll up your shirt sleeves, push back your top hat, and throw open your coat tails. It’s time to grab a bottle of gin, and seek riches or ruin as you learn about the history of gin in the Victorian era. Truly the drink of Empire…..or your personal ruin.

Intro What is gin?
Bombay Sapphire visit
Manufacturing, propaganda and the British vs Dutch origins debate
Invention is the mother of gin
Ah a night out in London with Dickens
Ruin and Empire.
Gin, Tonics and the growth of the cocktail.
Class matters – first last and always.
What did I make?

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EP013 THE VOLCANO’S WRATH: THE YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER PT1

2018-08-01 age-of-victoria 0:29:57 0 Comments

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No one in 1815 thought the world was about to change, but a cataclysmic volcanic eruption was about to change the course of history. The affairs of men seemed so important, yet in the tranquil Pacific, nature was about to shake the world and civilisations to their foundations. Join me for part 1 of the series on 1816 The Year without Summer as we learn about one of the greatest volcanoes in history. The world would never be the same again.

Love to hear from you either at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or via Twitter @ageofvictoria, or on the Age of Victoria Facebook group. Don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes and tell your friends to listen.

You can listen on iTunes, via the website, or on Google.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-age-of-victoria-podcast/id1234105258?mt=2

MINI010 VICTORIAN FISH AND CHIPS

2018-07-19 age-of-victoria 00:31:09 0 Comments

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Summer heat wave is here, so it’s time for Fish & Chips. You love em. I love em. The Victorians invented them. Don’t scoff, instead join me for a gallop through the history of Victorian fish and chips. Learn why Dickens was the key as always, and how fish and chips fuelled the industrial revolution. Listen to one of Queen Victoria’s daily menu’s – not for the faint of heart or the approval of Prince Albert.

Subscribe for free on iTunes so you can learn on the go at the gym or on the commute, or listen via the website.

Love to hear your feed back at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or leave a comment in the Facebook Group (Age of Victoria).

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends, tweet or spread the word to people who might enjoy the show.

EP012 CONGRESS OF VIENNA PT 2 “TURNING BACK THE CLOCK”

2018-07-01 age-of-victoria 00:36:31 2 Comments

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As Napoleons downfall and Frances defeat become inevitable, the hard work and hard partying of the great diplomats and statesmen of Europe reached a fever pitch. In a whirl of balls and banquets the shape of Europe for the next 100 years would be decided.

So much hung in the balance, but the great men of the time seemed to be more interested in the parties and the women to notice. Would there be a lasting peace, and a better world for all? Or would the old order simply be putting a lid on a pressure cooker…..

Join me as we establish the shape of the Europe after Napoleon, and see the stage being set that the Victorians would inherit a few years later.

Transcript available at https://ageofvictoriapodcast.com/transcript-congress-of-vienna-in-1814-pt-2-turning-back-the-clock/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-age-of-victoria-podcast/id1234105258?mt=2

MINI009 “A Victorian Scandal?”

2018-06-20 age-of-victoria 00:35:55 0 Comments

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Join me and decide who, if anyone was the truly scandalous one. The aristocrat? The banker? The Sporting Superstar?

This is a minisode that is a stand alone episode on a scandal involving Beatrice Sumner and Charles Hoare in the very late Victorian period, plus why framing a narrative is dangerous when studying history. What would you do to protect your daughter? What would you do to be with the man you loved?

Available on iTunes at

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-age-of-victoria-podcast/id1234105258?mt=2

Or on Google Podcasts if you have a Android phone at

https://www.google.com/podcasts…

If you click this on an Android phone, it’ll open The Age of Victoria. Automatically, in Google Podcasts – which EVERY Android user has already installed.

Don’t forget to email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com

Or message me on twitter.

MINI008 Announcements & thank you’s.

2018-06-12 age-of-victoria 00:07:13 0 Comments

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A very short update on upcoming episodes, reviews, thank you’s and a shout out to the excellent Pontifacts podcast.

EP011 Congress of Vienna pt 1 “A Brave old world”

2018-06-01 age-of-victoria 00:46:03 1 Comment

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Every European school child should have learnt about the Congress of Vienna. Seriously. It is actually possibly the most important series of events in modern history that no one has ever heard of.

Honestly, how many of us have heard of it, or know what it was, or what happened? We should and not just because it is important or worthy. It is a fascinating tail in its own right. Who would rule France? Would there be a Poland? What about the Pope or the Prussians? Who would control the Baltic or the Mediterranean? Who would end up in power, and who would end up dead? Politicians and kings squared off. Devious spies, and clever diplomats faced imperial generals or experienced statesmen. Flattery, bribery and corruption vied with high minded principle. Hypocrisy warred with genuine optimism. Had they disposed a tyrant only to create new tyrannies? Clever, ruthless men like Talleyrand destroyed incriminating archives, attempting to shape history itself.

This is part one of the story of how the modern nations of Europe were born, who shaped them and why.

Join me and find out about the brave old world that the old elite of Europe were attempting to build.

1ST BIRTHDAY SPECIAL

2018-05-04 age-of-victoria 00:19:40 0 Comments

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The podcast is one year old today. Celebrate with listener questions (who should be on the Victorian Mount Rushmore?), poetry, trivia and many thank you’s to all my listeners and podcast buddies.