The Exploress

In this episode of the Exploress Book Club, Natasha Solomons and I explore her new book I Am Cleopatra and the complexities of bringing Cleopatra's character to life on the page. Natasha discusses her inspiration for writing about Cleopatra, the challenges of researching a historical figure often viewed through...

In this series, we're time traveling back to past empires to meet some of the woman who ran them. This time, we're revisiting a ruling lady we've met before: the mighty Cleopatra of ancient Egypt's Ptolemaic Empire. This isn’t just a re-release, though: I’ve re-recorded the three-part original series, giving it a...

In this series, we're time traveling back to past empires to meet some of the woman who helped run them. Let's link up with Empress Theodora, who's going to walk us through her Byzantine (aka Eastern Roman) Empire. We'll see her rise from a fairly humble, and sometimes scandalous, background as an actress and courtesan...

In this series, we're time traveling back to past empires to meet some of the woman who helped run them. Allow me to introduce you to Empress Taytu Betul, who wasn't afraid to storm battlefields, boss around her emperor husband, and tell certain colonial powers to go on home. Let's walk with Taytu on her extraordinary...