When Elves & Fairies Lived Among Us

When Elves & Fairies Lived Among Us

Author: History Hit February 26, 2026 Duration: 42:51

In the mist‑shrouded Highlands, a quiet minister dared to trespass into forbidden realms. Convinced that fairies were not mere fables but a hidden nation with laws and lives of their own, Robert Kirk set out to reveal their secrets, and paid a terrible price. When Kirk died suddenly in 1692, locals whispered he had not died at all, but been taken alive into the Fairy Commonwealth for his betrayal.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and historian Rachel Morris journey into Kirk’s haunted world, an age when science and sorcery, angels and spirits, coexisted in a twilight of wonder and fear.


MORE:

Elizabeth I's Conjuror: John Dee

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify


John Dee's Angels

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify


Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Tim Arstall and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Step beyond the well-trodden path of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I with historian Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. While the Tudor dynasty remains a central touchstone, the conversations in Not Just the Tudors roam a much wider, richer historical landscape. You might find an episode delving into the court of Mughal India or examining the artistry of Velázquez, followed by a deep dive into the world of Shakespeare or the haunting history of witch trials. This approach reveals how the 16th and 17th centuries were a time of global connection and dramatic change far beyond the English court. Each week, Suzannah is joined by fellow historians and specialists, turning each session into a compelling dialogue that uncovers incredible, often overlooked stories. The result is a layered portrait of an era, built through detailed discussions and fresh perspectives. Produced by History Hit, this podcast releases new episodes every Wednesday and Sunday, offering regular escapes into a past that is both complex and surprisingly familiar. It’s a series for anyone who loves history but craves a broader view, proving that context is everything.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Not Just the Tudors
Podcast Episodes
Royal Favourites: Queen Anne & Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:38
How did Sarah Churchill become the most powerful woman in Queen Anne’s court? What happens when a royal friendship turns into a political battlefield? How did one absent set of jewels signal the beginning of the end?Prof…
Louis XIV: Sun King and Propagandist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:22
How did Louis XIV use his day-to-day life, especially his marriage, to help create the mythology of the Sun King as semi-divine, radiant and unrivalled?In 17th-century France, monarchy was performed, witnessed, and widel…
Royal Favourites: James I and George Villiers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:24
How did a relatively humble gentleman become the most powerful man in Stuart England?Few figures embodied the glamour and instability of the Jacobean court more completely than George Villiers, who rose to become one of…
Hoaxes and Lies in the Enlightenment [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:23
How did a ghost story bring London to a standstill? Was it a haunting, a fraud, or something even more revealing about Georgian society? Why did rational, educated people fall for elaborate hoaxes?Professor Suzannah Lips…
Royal Favourites: Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I's Forbidden Love [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:04
Passion, scandal, and power collided in the tumultuous relationship between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley. Rumours of secret trysts between them set the court ablaze, but their love was doomed from the start.In the first…
Anne of Cleves: New Discoveries [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:16
What if Henry VIII’s “discarded bride” actually showed real promise as queen?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr James Taffe to discuss new discoveries about Anne of Cleves’ surviving account book, a rare 200-pag…
Francisco de Cuéllar: Spanish Armada Captain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:27
How did a condemned Spanish Armada captain survive shipwreck, betrayal, and war to leave behind one of the most extraordinary first-person accounts of the 16th century?Francisco de Cuéllar was a career officer shaped by…
Anne Boleyn at Hever Castle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:45
What was Anne Boleyn like before she became the most controversial queen in English history? Can the rooms and gardens at her childhood home reveal more about the world that shaped her?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is join…
Maria Theresa, Habsburg Empress [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:07
How did a woman rise to power, and keep it, in the fiercely male-dominated Habsburg Empire?From her distrust of the Enlightenment to her religious intolerance, and from family strategy to imperial power, Maria Theresa wa…
Elizabethans in India [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:13
How did England’s earliest travellers to India try to win favour in a Mughal golden age that scarcely noticed them?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb speaks with Dr Lubaaba Al-Azami about Tudor and early Stuart England’s turn t…