The Dog Days’ King

The Dog Days’ King

Author: Simone Whitlow January 25, 2023 Duration: 26:42
Jorgen Jorgensen, born in Copenhagen, Denmark to a watchmaker, lived the kind of life most seen in picaresque novels like Voltaire’s Candide or Thackeray’s Barry Lyndon - but another way to sum him up would be he lived the life of that guy in Sinatra’s That’s Life - He was a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a King. There is another P word that, sadly, summed the adventurer’s life up - one that cast a shadow over much of his later life.  Sources this week include:  The Collected Works of Marcus Clarke - by Marcus Clarke. The Convict King - by Jorgen Jorgensen. And Australia’s Most Unbelievable True Stories - by Jim Haynes.  The blog post of the episode is here. Support the show on Patreon for just $2 US a month and get access to exclusive content. I’m currently revamping, and will be dropping re-recorded bonus content weekly for the next two months.  February’s episode, out on 1 February is Yasuke.     Please leave a like and review wherever you listen. The best way you can help support the show is to share an episode with a friend - Creative works grow best by word of mouth. I post episodes fortnightly, Wednesdays. Tales of History and Imagination is on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. The show has a YouTube Channel, largely for Audiogram advertisements.          Music, writing, narration, mixing normally all yours truly. This week I borrowed the melody for Waltzing Matilda (words the poet Banjo Patterson - click here to check out his most famous work The Man From Snowy River… music to his poem by Christina McPherson) For more information on Simone click here. 

Simone Whitlow hosts Tales of History and Imagination, a podcast dedicated to unearthing those peculiar, overlooked stories that conventional history books often skip. Each episode feels like a conversation about a fascinating secret, whether it's delving into the life of an obscure figure who tried to alter our very concept of time or examining the panic caused by a legendary beast in eighteenth-century France. You'll encounter the clever pranksters and the enigmatic side characters-the individuals who played brief but unforgettable cameo roles on the world's stage. Rather than re-treading well-worn narratives, this show seeks out perspectives rarely considered, finding the extraordinary within the ordinary march of events. Listening to this podcast is an exercise in curiosity, where major historical moments are often reframed through a surprising, human lens. It’s for anyone who suspects the past is far weirder and more wonderful than they were taught, blending rigorous research with a storyteller's sense of wonder. The result is a consistently engaging mix that sits at the crossroads of history, culture, and sheer human imagination.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Tales of History and Imagination
Podcast Episodes
Frau Troffea’s Dance With The Devil [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:51
In June Tales of History and Imagination is on holiday… Well, technically I’m writing new scripts for the second half of the year. In the meantime I’ve recorded a couple of minisodes, starting with the Tale of Frau Troff…
The Murder of William Desmond Taylor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:42
This week, Part Three of our Hollywood Trilogy - we discuss the Feb 1st 1922 murder of pioneering film director William Desmond Taylor, and the Pandora’s Box flung open in his wake. Sources this week include:(Sorry all,…
Shorts: What Ended Mabel Normand’s Career? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:45
Hey everyone the following is a quick addendum to the episode on William Desmond Taylor. Just what happened to Norma Desmond to finally ruin her career? I glossed over it in the episode so… here it is. Support the show o…
The Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle Incident [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:10
This week, part two of our Hollywood Trilogy - we discuss the Fatty Arbuckle/ Virginia Rappe case. How did a mysterious death during a boozy Labour Day party change the public’s perception of Hollywood forever? Hit play…
Olive Thomas: The Poisoned Chalice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:25
For the next three episodes Tales of History and Imagination is going Hollywood, with three related - but separate Tales. In 1919, many of the folks who brought America Prohibition of alcohol turned their sights on a new…
Railway War! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:36
This week, we’re going to ride the rails, in Colorado, USA - the year 1878. In the midst of a Railway boom in the USA, two tycoons go to war over narrow, twenty mile mountain pass. This week we’re examining the Royal Gor…
The Diaspora [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:54
This week, three short tales of Medieval and Ancient people who - through circumstances way beyond their control - found themselves transported beyond the furthest extent of (to them at least) the known world. This episo…
Mussolini’s Hat - How the Mob Came to America [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:37
This week’s all about presidents, dictators, more mobsters, islands and how the theft of a hat was taken just a little too seriously. Last fortnight we discussed the Black Hand, this episode we follow up and discuss why…
The Black Hand [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:16
Death threats, child kidnappings, fire-bombings… A naked man in a barrel? This week I discuss the shadowy practice that came to be known as The Black Hand, and detective Joseph Petrosino. Sources this week include: Five…
Roxelana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:03
This week, we travel to the court of the tenth Ottoman Emperor - though this tale is only tangentially about Suleiman the Magnificent. It’s a bit of an old cliche to say behind every great man is a great woman - but it i…