Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

Enlightenment & Age of Revolutions

121 Episodes 25 Series 144 Figures 85 Events 315 Books 229 Authors

Spanning the late 17th through the early 19th centuries, this era covers Enlightenment ideas, political revolutions, imperial expansion and early industrialization. Content includes multi-episode series on the American Revolution (colonial prosperity, protest and war), the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar (naval strategy, geopolitics), Captain Cook (Pacific voyages and encounters), London Week (from Roman Londinium to later landmarks and personalities), and a four-part life-and-legacy study of Lord Byron. Sample episodes address the Industrial Revolution (interview with Emma Griffin), Henry Fielding (London: People Ep. 3), Nelson-era extras on Emma Hamilton, and the summer 1792 crisis in the French Revolution. Figures, events and books discussed include Louis XVIII, Sir John Jervis, Charles Cornwallis, Le Chapelier Law (1791), Glorious First of June (1794), Jacobite Rising (1745), the Industrial Revolution, Gulliver’s Travels, and An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.

Timeline Subway

Episodes Series Figures Events Books Authors

Episodes by year

Showing 12 of 121

2026

12 episodes

Conan O'Brien on What The Founding Fathers Got Wrong

Founding Fathers · Part 5

In this Rest Is History special, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook welcome American television legend Conan O'Brien to …

Ken Burns on Why America Really Declared Independence

In this episode of The Rest Is History, host Dominic Sandbrook welcomes documentary filmmaker Ken Burns to discuss the …

Washington: Hero of the Revolution (Part 1)

Founding Fathers · Part 1

In this episode the hosts launch a new series commemorating the 250th anniversary of the colonial tax rebellion by focu…

Jefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4)

Founding Fathers · Part 4

In this episode of The Rest Is History, hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the life and legacy of Thomas J…

Hamilton: Duel to the Death (Part 3)

Founding Fathers · Part 3

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook open with a dramatized reading of Alexander Hamilton’s farewell lette…

Franklin: Revenge of the American Genius (Part 2)

Founding Fathers · Part 2

In this episode of The Rest Is History, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook turn their focus to Benjamin Franklin, the on…

England: God Save the King (Part 2)

2026 World Cup · Part 2

In the second episode of their World Cup‑themed series, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the history of Britai…

Wine in the New World

In this bonus episode of The Rest Is History, host Tom Holland welcomes wine historian Henry Jeffries, author of Empire…

RIHC: London’s Golden Age EXTRA - James Boswell’s Secret Diaries

In this Rest Is History bonus episode, host Tom Holland (joined by guest Adam Sisman) revisits the legacy of James Bosw…

London’s Golden Age: The Ghosts of Culloden (Part 3)

London's Golden Age · Part 3

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore Samuel Johnson’s 1773 journey to the Scottish Hebrides with h…

London’s Golden Age: The Shadow of the Madhouse (Part 4)

London's Golden Age · Part 4

In this episode Tom Holland explores the complex relationship between Samuel Johnson and the Thrale family, focusing on…

London’s Golden Age: Sex and Scandal in Georgian Britain (Part 2)

London's Golden Age · Part 2

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace James Boswell’s whirlwind early career in 18th‑century London, …

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Series in this era

25 series

The French Revolution - Season 2 (July 2024)

9 episodes Aired: 2024-07-28 – 2024-08-14

Nelson (S2)

8 episodes Aired: 2025-10-08 – 2025-11-05

Founding Fathers

5 episodes Aired: 2026-06-28 – 2026-07-23

Nelson (S1)

5 episodes Aired: 2024-11-18

The French Revolution - Season 3 (October 2024)

5 episodes Aired: 2024-10-13 – 2024-10-14

American Revolution

4 episodes Aired: 2023-07-03

London's Golden Age

4 episodes Aired: 2026-03-09

The French Revolution - Season 1 (March 2024)

4 episodes Aired: 2025-03-03

The Great Northern War

4 episodes Aired: 2025-05-11

Battle of Trafalgar

3 episodes Aired: 2022-10-17

Historical figures

144 tagged

Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I of the French)

42 episodes

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

37 episodes

Louis XVI of France

28 episodes

Marie Antoinette (born Maria Antonia of Austria)

27 episodes

George III (King George)

23 episodes

Samuel Johnson

21 episodes

Maximilien Robespierre

20 episodes

Emma (Lady) Hamilton

19 episodes

George Washington

19 episodes

William Pitt (The Younger)

19 episodes

Historical events

85 tagged

French Revolution (1789–1799)

36 episodes

Napoleonic era (c. 1799–1815)

22 episodes

American Revolutionary War (American War of Independence, 1775–1783)

19 episodes

Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

19 episodes

Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789)

19 episodes

Battle of the Nile (1798)

16 episodes

Flight to Varennes (1791, Varennes)

13 episodes

Reign of Terror (1793–1794, France)

13 episodes

Industrial Revolution

10 episodes

Insurrection and attack on the Tuileries (10 August 1792)

10 episodes

Books

315 tagged

Adventures in Time: Nelson, a Hero of the Seas

Author: Dominic Sandbrook

9 episodes

Dominion

Author: Tom Holland

7 episodes

Citizens

Author: Simon Sharma

6 episodes

A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

4 episodes

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Author: National Constituent Assembly (France)

4 episodes

Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

4 episodes

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Author: Edmund Burke

4 episodes

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

Author: Tom Holland

4 episodes

The Revolutionary Temper

Author: Robert Danton

4 episodes

A Place of Greater Safety

Author: Hilary Mantel

3 episodes

Authors

229 tagged

Dominic Sandbrook

12 episodes

Tom Holland

10 episodes

Simon Sharma

8 episodes

Thomas Paine

6 episodes

Charles Dickens

5 episodes

Jane Austen

5 episodes

Edmund Burke

4 episodes

Hilary Mantel

4 episodes

National Constituent Assembly (France)

4 episodes

Robert Danton

4 episodes