Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

Enlightenment & Age of Revolutions

130 Episodes 26 Series 159 Figures 83 Events 340 Books 248 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 130

2026

11 episodes

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…

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…

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: 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, …

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: 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 Mad Life of Dr Johnson (Part 1)

London's Golden Age · Part 1

In this episode of The Rest Is History, hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the extraordinary friendship be…

Greatest Paintings: Age of Enlightenment - Raeburn's Skating Minister - FULL EPISODE

Greatest Paintings with Laura Cumming

This Rest Is History club episode (Greatest Paintings with Laura Cumming) examines Henry Raeburn's celebrated portrait …

2025

1 episode

RIHC: Iconic Episodes, Unforgettable Heroes, and History’s Greatest Apples

This special episode, recorded in Sydney to mark the podcast being named Apple’s 2025 Show of the Year, features hosts …

Page 2 of 11 (page size 12)

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Series in this era

26 series

The French Revolution - Season 2 (July 2024)

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

The French Revolution - Season 4 (September 2026)

9 episodes Aired: 2026-09-20 – 2026-10-06

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

Historical figures

159 tagged

Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I of the French)

49 episodes

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

37 episodes

Louis XVI of France

35 episodes

Maximilien Robespierre

29 episodes

Marie Antoinette (born Maria Antonia of Austria)

27 episodes

George III (King George)

23 episodes

Samuel Johnson

21 episodes

Edmund Burke

19 episodes

Emma (Lady) Hamilton

19 episodes

George Washington

19 episodes

Historical events

83 tagged

French Revolution (1789–1799)

44 episodes

Seven Years' War (1756–1763)

28 episodes

Napoleonic era (c. 1799–1815)

22 episodes

Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789)

22 episodes

Reign of Terror (1793–1794, France)

21 episodes

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

19 episodes

Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

19 episodes

Battle of the Nile (1798)

16 episodes

Flight to Varennes (1791, Varennes)

13 episodes

September Massacres (2–6 September 1792, Paris)

13 episodes

Books

340 tagged

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution

Author: Simon Schama

12 episodes

Adventures in Time: Nelson, a Hero of the Seas

Author: Dominic Sandbrook

9 episodes

A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

7 episodes

Dominion

Author: Tom Holland

7 episodes

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Author: Edmund Burke

5 episodes

A Place of Greater Safety

Author: Hilary Mantel

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

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

Author: Tom Holland

4 episodes

The Revolutionary Temper

Author: Robert Danton

4 episodes

Authors

248 tagged

Simon Schama

14 episodes

Dominic Sandbrook

12 episodes

Tom Holland

10 episodes

Charles Dickens

8 episodes

Thomas Paine

6 episodes

Edmund Burke

5 episodes

Hilary Mantel

5 episodes

Jane Austen

5 episodes

Peter McPhee

5 episodes

National Constituent Assembly (France)

4 episodes