Absolute History

Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home: In a genuine horror story, Suzannah Lipscomb reveals the lethal products, gadgets and conveniences that lurked in every room of the Victorian home and shows how they were unmasked.

Suzannah Lipscomb takes us back to the late Victorian era when cosets caused havoc on women's bodies.

Some of the least pleasant employment opportunities open to people in the Middle Ages. Tony Robinson discovers how fullers spent their working lives stomping on newly woven cloth in vats of stale urine, while leech collectors risked infection by wading into marshes and letting the bloodsuckers cling to their legs.

Plenty of jobs were disgusting, but this is something else.

Historian, Joann Fletcher explores the hitherto downplayed role that women took in the running of state and, indeed, in shaping every aspect of life in Ancient Egypt. Perhaps unassumed by most, the ancient Egyptians were unique in their attitude to sexual equality with women holding the title of ‘Pharaoh’ no fewer than 18 times, while there were also female doctors, tutors, prime ministers and priestesses. Focusing on women of royalty such as Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Queen Nefertari, as well as women of high profession such as Lady Peseshat, the earliest female doctor known to the world, Fletcher reveals an ancient civilization unparalleled in its sexual equality.

The Story of Queen Hetepheres, King Khufu's mother. Was she a true Egyptian Queen?

Dr Suzannah Lipscomb takes us back to Tudor times, when the newly emergent middle classes had money for luxuries and early consumer goods, many of which contained hidden dangers.

How drowning caused many deaths during the 16th century.

Among the thankless tasks tackled by Tony this week are the work of the midshipman, lighthouse keeper, stoker and trimmer, the men of Britains first navy who survived on minimal rations, and the men who wore sacks on their heads on the luxury liners. Finally he experiences the dangerous occupation of the Victorian lifeboat man.