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Stephen Fry's Edwardian Secrets

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About this listen

Powered flight. Votes for women. Human sexuality. Mass migration. The psychology of dreams. The magic of the movies. Spies and detectives. Welcome to Stephen Fry’s Edwardian Secrets.

Perhaps thanks to TV period dramas, the popular imagination may picture the Edwardian era as an idyllic window between the wars, a time of manners and tea on the lawn. But below the surface lies a frenetic and often bizarre age where scientific leaps forward went hand in hand with belief in fairies, and secrets of sex, lies and murder simmered.

Across 12 episodes, in this sequel to his Victorian Secrets, Stephen Fry uncovers some of the startling and unexpected hidden histories of the Edwardians.

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Episodes
  • Ep 1: A Hard Act to Follow

    Ep 1: A Hard Act to Follow
    Aug 11 2021

    The Queen is dead, long live the King. On the occasion of Edward Vll’s coronation, we look back at his life as spoilt child, curious adolescent and womanizing princely glutton. There’s a bizarre secret behind those early motion pictures of a new and rotund monarch.
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    31 mins
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  • Ep 2: Big Helpings

    Ep 2: Big Helpings
    Aug 11 2021

    This was to be an age of excess for some, and plenty for others. An age when the ruling classes enjoyed a secret life of large-scale adultery. Plus, the story of a female celebrity cook whose quail puddings were loved by the King. But was there more to their relationship?
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    36 mins
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  • Ep 3: Small Worlds

    Ep 3: Small Worlds
    Aug 11 2021

    The bumpy story of early British flight; some secret mysteries about the Titanic, plus the secrets of a famous pair of murderers who were tracked down thanks to new technology. Ships, Telegraphy and the popular press were shrinking the world, with some unforeseen results.
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    37 mins
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As ever Stephen's presentation is hugely entertaining and the subject matter of great interest.

Wonderful

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Loved every minute of these podcasts. Hats off to Mr Fry….well done sir. So entertaining and informative.

Wonderful simply wonderful

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I loved every minute of this, I binged on the whole lot. An now moving onto the Victorian series though of course I wish I'd done the series the other way round chronologically. Utterly wonderful. The production is top notch as well, all the background audio scenery means you can really imagine being there.

Excellent production, wonderful immersive series.

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Stephen Fry's podcast series is a appropriate follow-up to Victorian Secrets. He studiously avoids the well-worn tropes of the Edwardian era. For example, it was a halcyon era, a prewar time of garden parties at grand country houses presided over by the hedonistic Edward VII. Each episode considers a topic not routinely discussed:
. the lives of black Edwardians ,
. the often violent struggle of the suffragettes,
. sexual revolutions, and
. the phenomenal growth of labour movements.

Fry’s podcast is a polished look at the period, held together with expert analysis

A polished look at the Edwardians period

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Informative, well narrated and with something to take home for anyone with an interest in English history.
Highly enjoyed it!
I also recommend Victorian secrets!

Good series! Nice job Stephen Fry!

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Stephen Fry is a fantastic narrator, he would make my shopping list sound like a Booker prize winner.

Excellent

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Really interesting although some chapters were a struggle to get through. Stephen Fry made it for me he is a great story teller.

step back in time.

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It is mostly Stephen Fry narrating, so what's not to like (so long as you can overlook the mildly hammy delivery).

Well produced with a supporting cast of experts and actor voicings.

Entertaining light history

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One or two of the episodes felt as though they struggled for content relevant to the topic. Somewhat tedious. Still good though nevertheless. The majority however were incredible. Loved it!

Stephen Fry. What's not to love?

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yet another great Stephen Fry podcast interesting funny and informative well worth the time

interesting

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