Today the historian and literary scholar Dr Joseph Hone takes us back to the dangerous, scheming politics of the reign of Queen Anne.

We talk about the long legacy of the fraught seventeenth-century. We follow the twists and turns of a mystery about a scandalous pamphlet, and we meet the brilliant man who many consider Britain’s first prime minister: Robert Harley.

The material covered in this episode of Travels Through Time comes from Joseph Hone’s new book, The Paper Chase: The Printer, The Spymaster & the Hunt for the Rebel Pamphleteers, published by Chatto & Windus.

For much, much more, head to our website: tttpodcast.com

Show notes

Scene One: 7 February 1711, the Bell Tavern, Westminster. A club of disgruntled Tory backbenchers are plotting against Robert Harley.

Scene Two: 8 March 1711, the Cockpit in Whitehall. A suspected French spy is being interrogated by members of the cabinet when he attempts to assassinate Harley.

Scene Three: 26 April 1711, the floor of the House of Commons. Harley makes a grand reappearance in Parliament.

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Presenter: Artemis Irvine

Guest: Dr Joseph Hone

Producers: Maria Nolan

Titles: Jon O

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