The Siècle History Podcast

The Siècle is a history podcast covering France's overlooked century between Napoleon and World War I. Visit thesiecle.com for annotated scripts, pictures, maps, sources and more.

Episode 34: Polignac 06/19/2023

Episode 34: Polignac On Aug. 8, 1829, a new French ministry was appointed featuring Charles X's friend Jules de Polignac. This made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. Visit thesiecle.com/episode34 for a full transcript of this episode with pictures, links, and 82 annotated footnotes. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/27189807

Supplemental 17: Béranger 05/03/2023

Supplemental 17: Béranger During the Bourbon Restoration, one man's songs were everywhere. He wrote about politics and about love, for the rich and for the poor, and persevered despite the best efforts of the government to shut him up. Meet the Bob Dylan of the Restoration: Pierre-Jean de Béranger — including audio clips! This episode is an interview with Prof. Sophie-Anne Leterrier, author of . Note that Prof. Leterrier is not a native English speaker. As always with The Siècle, you can check out an annotated transcript online at . My thanks to my Patreon supporters, whose backing enabled me to license recordings for this song and pay to have the interview transcribed. You can join them for as little as $1 per month at . /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/26729844

Episode 33: Martignac 03/31/2023

Episode 33: Martignac Buffeted by a bad election, King Charles X is forced to appoint a more moderate ministry. Can Prime Minister Martignac forge a middle course before his boss gets fed up with concessions? Support The Siècle for as little as $1 per month on Patreon, or make a one-time donation, online at . /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/26399166

Supplemental 16: Restoration Elections 03/06/2023

Supplemental 16: Restoration Elections Restoration France had an elected parliament, but its elections were radically different from the voting we're familiar with today. Here's how they did it, from tax-based voting rights to not-so-secret ballots to candidates running and winning in multiple districts at once. Visit for a full transcript of this episode with notes, pictures and charts. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/26131698

Episode 32: The Congregation 01/31/2023

Episode 32: The Congregation King Charles X's reign was marked by web of conspiracy theories about the alleged role of two secretive Catholic organizations: the Jesuits and the enigmatic Congregation. Let's dive in to what was true, what was false, and why ultimately it didn't really matter what the facts were. Visit for a full annotated transcript, and to support the show for as little as $1 per month. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/25778907

Fact-Check 1: Learning and Forgetting 12/01/2022

Fact-Check 1: Learning and Forgetting Many people have quoted a famous quip about the Bourbon Restoration, that "The Bourbons have learned nothing and forgotten nothing." While this is a real quote, more or less, almost everything people think they know about it is wrong. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/25185969

Episode 31: The Election of 1827 10/28/2022

Episode 31: The Election of 1827 "The enemy redoubles his efforts," King Charles X wrote in September 1827, shortly before he dissolved the French parliament in a risky political gambit. "However, I am resolved to act with firmness and wisdom and am entirely confident that in the end we will overcome all obstacles." Did he? Let's find out. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/24828618

Supplemental 15: Art Greco 08/20/2022

Supplemental 15: Art Greco A Delacroix painting, a Rossini opera and a Dumas novel help demonstrate the profound impact that the Greek War of Independence had on French art and literature. Visit for a full transcript of this episode with notes, illustrations and music. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/24115278

Episode 30: Greek-ing Out 06/20/2022

Episode 30: Greek-ing Out The Greeks go into revolt against the Ottoman Empire — a revolt that fires the imaginations of France and the rest of Europe. The French government reacts with ambivalence, but many French men and women enthusiastically adopt the Greek cause. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/23479562

Episode 29: The Doctrinaires 05/02/2022

Episode 29: The Doctrinaires A small but crucial group of Restoration politicians were centrist liberals who championed constitutional monarchy against enemies to the right and left. Meet the brilliant and controversial clique who are known to history as the Doctrinaires. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/22972691

Supplemental 14: Émigrés 04/01/2022

Supplemental 14: Émigrés Thousands of French men and women fled the country during the Revolution. Who were they, what were their lives like in exile — and how did they handle it when they finally came back home? /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/22645595

Supplemental 13: Scrofula 02/19/2022

Supplemental 13: Scrofula I join Benjamin Jacobs from the podcast for a deeper dive into "scrofula," the skin condition whose sufferers Charles X touched at his coronation in a medieval ritual believed to hold the power of healing. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/22184780

Supplemental 12: Second Sons 01/26/2022

Supplemental 12: Second Sons Professor Jonathan Spangler joins the show to explain the French institution of "Monsieur" and how it shaped French courts over the centuries. Be sure to follow The Siècle on Twitter @, or . /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/21900902

Episode 28: Charles in Charge 01/03/2022

Episode 28: Charles in Charge King Charles X begins his long-awaited reign in a warm glow of popularity, but his honeymoon phase won't last forever as he begins to push a controversial agenda for France. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/21657881

Supplemental 11: The Year 1817 11/01/2021

Supplemental 11: The Year 1817 A famous — or infamous — chapter in Victor Hugo's masterpiece Les Misérables is "The Year 1817," a length recitation of a series of minor events that happened in France in that year. As a special bonus episode, take a dive into that chapter — and see how many of his obscure events you now recognize! /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/21004844

Episode 27: Mission from God 10/19/2021

Episode 27: Mission from God The restoration of the Bourbons also meant a restoration of Catholicism as the state religion of France — delighting some, and outraging others. Not only is religion vital to fully understand Restoration France, it's especially vital to understand the new King Charles X. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/20863058

Supplemental 10: Et cetera, Wellington 06/30/2021

Supplemental 10: Et cetera, Wellington Restoration France as analyzed by an outsider with intimate knowledge of France both on the battlefield and in the salons — Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/19654955

Announcement: Intelligent Speech 04/19/2021

Announcement: Intelligent Speech I'll be giving a talk at the upcoming Intelligent Speech online history podcast conference on April 24, 2021, about the experience of French émigrés during and after the Revolution. Visit intelligentspeechconference.com to buy tickets and use the offer code "siecle" for 10 percent off. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/18773162

Episode 26: Monsieur 03/30/2021

Episode 26: Monsieur With Louis XVIII dead, the new king is his younger brother, the Comte d'Artois. But what kind of man is France's new king? To see, let's rewind back through the first 10 years of the Restoration, from the point of view of the very charming and very conservative Artois. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/18532283

Episode 25: The King Is Dead 02/01/2021

Episode 25: The King Is Dead After 10 years on the throne, King Louis XVIII of France's health enters a terminal decline. As he tries to entrench his legacy with one final accomplishment, what are we to make of the reign of France's restored king? /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/17767301

Episode 24: Lafayette in America 01/11/2021

Episode 24: Lafayette in America After the defeat of his efforts to bring about liberal reform in France through both legal and illegal means, the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824 boarded a ship for the fledgling United States, where he would be celebrated as "the nation's guest" in a momentous tour. Learn more in conversation with Lafayette expert Alan Hoffman. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/17496035

Episode 23: Charbonnerie 12/01/2020

Episode 23: Charbonnerie Conspiracy is in the air in France. In a world of secret societies and paranoid styles, the Bourbon Restoration clings to power while secretive cells spread across the country. The fate of the entire country is up for grabs as the French army is forced to decide its loyalty. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/17013350

Supplemental 9: Thiers in Spain 09/30/2020

Supplemental 9: Thiers in Spain An 1822 account of civil war on the Franco-Spanish border by an up-and-coming liberal journalist named Adolphe Thiers, who observes a refugee crisis, battles between liberal and conservative forces, and the disposition of French soldiers preparing to intervene. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/16212857

Supplemental 8: Bastille Day 07/14/2020

Supplemental 8: Bastille Day Happy Bastille Day! But in the Bourbon Restoration, Bastille Day was banned, along with "La Marseillaise" and the tricolor flag. In this special episode, find out how these modern-day symbols of France were treated, and what the Bourbons used in their place. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/15200876

Episode 22: French Press 06/19/2020

Episode 22: French Press The wars, murders and political battles covered on The Siècle were first covered by France's newspapers — which were very different than the newspapers of today. Take a tour into the strange world of Restoration journalism, and learn the truth behind one of the most famous collections of French newspaper headlines. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/14892548

Episode 21: The Afterlife of Napoleon 05/23/2020

Episode 21: The Afterlife of Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte is dead — but he still lives on, in myth and legend, in flowers and tobacco boxes, in jails and asylums, and above all in the political memory of Restoration France, for whom even death cannot rid them of their greatest foe. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/14537003

Supplemental 7: Memorial of St. Helena 05/01/2020

Supplemental 7: Memorial of St. Helena A recitation of the "19th Century Bonapartist Bible," a memoir from one of Napoleon's aides on St. Helena recounting the emperor's life in exile and his discourses on his rule and historical rulers before him. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/14229104

Supplemental 7: Memorial of St. Helena 05/01/2020

Episode 20: The Death of Napoleon 04/02/2020

Episode 20: The Death of Napoleon Halfway across the world from France, the most famous man of his age dies in isolated exile — but not before profoundly reforging his legacy through both story and suffering. /episode/index/show/thesiecle/id/13814510

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