Legend has it that there once was a King named Arthur who allegedly lived in the late 5th and early 6th centuries and who, with his many companions, successfully fought off numerous enemies in Britain. But was there actually an historical Arthur of real flesh and blood? The Arthurian stories are arguably the greatest legends in Western history, and here in our 50th Episode we explore how the fabled Arthur compares with the historical one.

Books:

• De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae by Gildas
• Historia Brittonum by Nennius
• The New Arthurian Encyclopedia Edited by Norris Lacy
• Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Momouth
• Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
• Anglo-Saxon England by Sir Frank Stenton

Film:

• Excalibur (1981) with Nigel Terry and Helen Mirren
• Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975) with John Cleese and Eric Idle
• Camelot (1967) with Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave

It was a political scandal that rocked France to its core and proved to be a watershed event for European antisemitism. A French officer, Alfred Dreyfus, was accused of passing military secrets to the Germans. He was found guilty by a military tribunal and sent to Devil’s Island, one of the most notorious penal colonies in the world. What happened next will shock and appall you as it did not only France but the entire world. Here in Episode 49, we explore just how far the French military went to cover up their colossal mistake in what would become known as The Dreyfus Affair.

Books:

• Five years of My Life: 1894-1899 by Alfred Dreyfus
• The Man on Devil’s Island: Alfred Dreyfus and the Affair That Divided France by Ruth Harris
• The Dreyfus Affair: “J’Accuse and Other Writings of Emile Zola
• The Dreyfus Affair: The Scandal That Tore France in Two by Piers Paul Read
• The Collapse of The Third Republic by William Shire

Film:

• I Accuse (1958) with José Ferrer as Captain Alfred Dreyfus
• Papillon (1973) with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman

There have been many impostors throughout history and in this 48th episode we deal with six of them, two related to English history and four related to Russian history. All at one time or another had many who believed in them (or at least tried to use them for advantage). All six went a long way to pulling off their ruse and we discuss many of the details in this episode.

Episode Notes:

• Ivan IV (the Terrible) was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and Czar of Russia from 1547 to 1584.

Books:

• The Earlier Tudors by J.D. Mackie
• Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders by Nathen Amin
• A Short History of Russia's First Civil War: The Time of Troubles of and the Founding of the Romanov Dynasty by Chester S.L. Dunning
• A History of Russia by Nicholas V. Riasanovsky
• A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the Court of Anna Anderson by Frances Welch

Film:

• Ivan the Terrible (2014) Documentary
• Anastasia (1956) Starring Ingrid Bergman