What started Britain’s century of bloody witch hunts? Lucy Worsley uncovers the story of one supposed witch whose case lit the fuse for the state-sanctioned killing of thousands.
How did the Black Death change Britain? Lucy Worsley examines the latest science and explores how the huge death toll affected religious beliefs, class structure, work and women.
What really happened to the princes in the tower? Lucy Worsley uncovers the story of the two boys whose disappearance in 1483 has led to centuries of mystery and speculation.
How did George’s mental illness change Britain? Lucy Worsley uncovers Royal papers and explores how the attempt on his life by a mentally ill subject changed psychiatry forever.
How did the Jack the Ripper case shape the way true crime is covered today? Lucy Worsley investigates how these shocking killings created a world of entertainment based on murder.
On 5 November 1605, a group of conspirators planned to blow up parliament. Lucy Worsley investigates the Gunpowder Plot, asking what drove them to this radical act of extremism.
Was winning the Battle of Hastings in 1066 all it took for William to become king? Lucy Worsley investigates the aftermath to reveal how he really conquered England.
Does 'Bloody Mary', England’s first crowned queen, deserve her reputation? Lucy Worsley investigates, asking whether Mary should be remembered as a pioneer or a tyrant.
Episode 1 takes Lucy to New York’s City Hall Park, where George Washington’s troops heard the Declaration of Independence read aloud — a rallying cry that inspired rebels to destroy a statue of King George III and melt it into musket balls. At the New York Historical, Lucy examines a relic of this defiance and asks whether the rupture was inevitable. She then travels home to England to uncover the British perspective, studying King George’s maps and visiting Benjamin Franklin’s London home. She traces British and American tensions rising from Britain’s punitive taxes and the Stamp Act of 1765. In Boston, Lucy explores how the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party were flashpoints that pushed Americans toward war. Finally, Lucy reveals the radical voices - John Wilkes and Thomas Paine -0 whose words crystallized America’s vision of liberty and independence.
Episode 2uncovers how the war reverberated in Britain itself. At Portsmouth Royal Dockyard, Lucy investigates James Aitken’s shocking arson plot to cripple the Royal Navy. She traces Franklin’s secret mission to Paris to secure French support, while British spy Edward Bancroft fed intelligence back to London. Lucy explores Britain’s growing fears as France - and later Spain - joined the conflict, and how Irish Volunteers forced Britain to lift trade restrictions between Ireland and America. Back in London, riots erupted, and George III agonized over the possibility of losing the empire. By 1781, Britain’s campaign collapsed at Yorktown, and two years later, Britain formally recognized American independence. Concluding her investigation at Grosvenor Square, the site of America’s first embassy in London, Lucy reflects on a revolution that created an independent America and reshaped Britain forever.
