Poison, swordplay and bloodshed. Shakespeare’s characters met their ends in a plethora of gruesome ways. But how realistic were they? And did they even shock audiences who lived in a time of plague, pestilence and public executions, a time when seeing a dead or dying body on the way home from the theatre were high. I was joined by the wonderful Dr Kathryn Harkup, a chemist and author, on a tumultuous journey through the most dramatic and memorable parts of Shakespeare’s work.
Professor Paul Cartledge is Professor of Greek Culture emeritus University of Cambridge and author of many books, most recently, Democracy: A Life.
Sasha Swire joined me on the podcast to talk about her diary, written during the Cameron years. Her husband was an MP and junior minister at the time.
Diane Ducret is a French writer and essayist. In this captivating episode, she discusses the wives of some of the most reviled dicators in history and questions the impact they had on the men they loved.
