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This Sceptred IsleEpisodes

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  1. 2,000 Years of History

    216/216Anna Massey considers Britain's history, from the Romans to the first Prime Minister.

  2. The Death of Victoria and the Dream of Gerontius

    215/216Queen Victoria's reign ends and a Conservative government returns. Anna Massey narrates.

  3. The Boer War Turns the Century

    214/216As Queen Victoria reaches 80, the country is at war in South Africa. Anna Massey narrates.

  4. Omdurman, Ladysmith and Mafeking

    213/216Victoria has reigned longer than any other monarch and celebrations are afoot.

  5. The Death of Gladstone

    212/216A time of social reform, free education and the outlawing of child employment.

  6. Keir Hardie and the Birth of the Labour Party

    211/216The Fabian Society is born and county councils formed by the Local Government Act.

  7. Victoria's Golden Jubilee

    210/21650 'marvellous years' or the reign of 'a pampered old woman of sullen visage'?

  8. Salisbury Becomes Prime Minister

    209/216Churchill and Chamberlain appear, and the thorny question of Home Rule in Ireland.

  9. General Gordon Dies at Khartoum

    208/216Proposals to improve social conditions leads to urban slum clearances.

  10. Ireland and the Phoenix Park Murders

    207/216Gladstone's ambitions for Home Rule in Ireland end in fiasco. Anna Massey narrates.

  11. The First Boer War

    206/216Queen Victoria is distraught at Disraeli's death, while the Boer War ignites.

  12. Death of Disraeli

    205/216Death of Disraeli: Gladstone's Midlothian Campaign costs the Prime Minister dearly.

  13. Gladstone Returns

    204/216Disraeli struggles for support in the face of Rourke's Drift. Anna Massey narrates.

  14. Victoria Becomes Empress of India

    203/216The Suez Canal is up for sale, but who will buy - Britain or France? Anna Massey narrates.

  15. 1876 - Gladstone and the War in Bosnia

    202/216The entrenched Eastern Question brings Gladstone back into front bench politics.

  16. How Britain Bought the Suez Canal

    201/216Disraeli becomes Prime Minister and cements the country's imperial interests.

  17. A Question of Monarchy

    200/216Gladstone brings about many changes, but the Queen is under threat from other quarters.

  18. The Cutty Sark, Dickens, Education and Stanley

    199/216Sail v Steam, the death of Dickens, schools 'on the rates' and Livingstone found.

  19. The Irish Church and Constitutional Crisis

    198/216Disraeli's time in office is cut short by the question of the Anglican Church in Ireland.

  20. Disraeli and the Origin of Two Nations

    197/216Disraeli 'the conjuror' is Prime Minister. But not for long. Narrated by Anna Massey.

  21. 1867 - Disraeli and Electoral Reform

    196/216The tortuous road to Electoral Reform results in Parliamentary upheaval.

  22. The Rise of Bismarck and the Death of Palmerston

    195/216The late 19th century sees Germany wielding power and the end of an era in Westminster.

  23. Dickens and Poverty

    194/216Poverty, misery and the workhouse in 19th century London is examined in this episode.

  24. The Great Migrations and The Colonies

    193/216The 19th century saw reform, industrialisation and a mass exodus to new territories.

  25. After Albert

    192/216A grieving Queen Victoria proposes a great memorial for her husband.

  26. The Death of Prince Albert

    191/216As Europe celebrates unity in 1861, civil war grips America.

  27. The Reform Bill

    190/216Revisions to the 1832 Reform Laws indicate wider political changes taking place.

  28. Darwin

    189/216The new Theory of Evolution causes a deep divide between Church and Science.

  29. The Arrow War

    188/216The second Opium War begins with the killing of a French missionary in China.

  30. Gladstone's First Budget

    187/216Gladstone's ambitions as Chancellor are thwarted by the onset of the Crimean War.

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