Across nearly five centuries, Richard Rich has acquired a reputation as the consummate opportunist: a man who appeared to possess few genuine principles beyond his own advancement, who accumulated immense wealth through the destruction of the monasteries, and who played pivotal roles in sending two of England's most revered martyrs—Bishop John Fisher and Sir Thomas More—to the scaffold. To many historians, Rich epitomises the darker side of Tudor government, where ambition eclipsed conscience and political expediency routinely trumped morality, so, what was his actual story?

What was life really like for women in the Middle Ages? From princesses and queens, to noblewomen all the way down to peasants, their lives were shaped by work, family, faith, law and the communities around them. But how much do we actually know about their experiences, and what can medieval sources tell us about the choices, challenges and opportunities they faced? Well to discuss just that, I am thrilled to welcome back Dr Catherine Hanley, onto the podcast, for a discussion based around her book, The Family Lives of Medieval Women. Together, we’ll look beyond the stereotypes of the “medieval woman” and discover the remarkable variety of women’s lives during this period.

What if Henry VIII’s two most famous wives had put aside their differences and joined forces against the man who destroyed both their lives? Imagine Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn — two women who, in real life, became bitter rivals — forming the most unlikely alliance in Tudor history. Well to answer that question, I am joined by author Jillian Laine, whose novel Henry Tudor Must Die brings Catherine and Anne together in an entirely new version of the Tudor story — one where the wives aren't simply victims of Henry's reign, but the architects of his downfall. So sharpen your knives, keep your head down, and prepare for a very different take on the story we know so well.