Epic History Newsletter #18

Dear Patrons,

Welcome to Epic History newsletter number 18! While it might seem a little quieter here, you can rest assured we're very busy behind the scenes.

We also bring news of more soundtrack releases, plus our One Cool History Thing courtesy of James's recent trip to the USA.

Soundtrack releases

We're going to release three more Epic video soundtracks, one of our Patreon perks to all supporters of the 'Lords and Ladies' tier and above. There's been some very enthusiastic comments about our recent scores - so whether it's one of these or an old favourite, let us know your requests in the comments before Friday 22 Nov, and we'll share the winning soundtracks soon after.

Production updates

As many of you know, we currently have three big new series in production. We're doing a lot of research and writing at the moment, so not many screenshots to share yet. But as a taster, here's some quotes we've picked for the opening episodes:

Rise of China

“I venture to make a singular assertion: one day, the reform of the Chinese people will be more profound than that of any other people, and the society of the Chinese people will be more radiant than any other people... Our golden age, our age of glory and splendour, lies before us!”

Mao Zedong, 1919

American Revolution

"There is an idea in some that the colonies are virtually represented in the House [of Commons]. I would fain know by whom an American is represented here. Is he represented by any knight of the shire, in any county in this kingdom? Or will you tell him that he is represented by any representative of a borough? A borough which, perhaps, its own representatives never saw! This is what is called the rotten part of the Constitution. It cannot continue a century.”

William Pitt the Elder, 1763

World War 2

“Germany is again the Germany of before the war, with a new fanatical look in its eye.”

Sir Harold Nicolson, 1934

One Cool History Thing

James writes:

I recently went on a trip to the US with my wife to visit my father-in-law in Maine, and then travel down to Philadelphia, which has become my 'adopted' American city. As with any holiday we take, historical sites and walking tours were a priority.. so it's actually 'a few Cool History Things' this time around!

First, Salem. We took a road trip down to Salem just before Halloween, when it becomes a Mecca for all those of a witchy disposition. We visited the Charter Street Cemetery, one of the oldest European burial sites in the US and the resting place of two people involved in the witchcraft trials - Judge John Hathorne and Magistrate Bartholomew Gedney.

Next to the cemetery, yards from where many of their neighbours are buried, is a moving memorial to the witch trial victims, with 20 benches bearing their names and execution dates. It's a very beautiful, poignant tribute in my opinion.

We then visited the famous 'Witch House', one of the few original buildings connected to the trials. It was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, who presided over 19 executions, and is where he would have received the accused for 'pretrial examinations'.

One of the guides at the Witch House also explained that Salem's Lyceum Hall was where Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the first long-distance call (with his colleague in Boston) to 500 paying customers in 1877. The audience was apparently stunned, with some in disbelief about what they were witnessing - how ironic that such 'witchcraft' was first demonstrated in Salem!

In Philadelphia, we did a walking tour of the historic district and learned all about the founding fathers. We also joined a 'night tour' to learn some of the city's more macabre history. Two stories stood out:

The first is the undignified end of Gouverneur Morris, 'Penman of the Constitution'. After some 'adventures' in his younger days, like many of his colleagues, Morris suffered with certain *cough* infections. During one particularly bad episode in his 60s, he attempted some self-surgery to clear a blockage in his urinary tract - and decided a thin piece of whale baleen would do the trick... He bled to death as a result.

We also stopped by Philadelphia's Athenaeum, learning how Edgar Allen Poe's 1842 meeting with Charles Dickens inspired his famous poem, The Raven. Poe had read Barnaby Rudge, which featured Dickens' beloved pet bird 'Grip', and was delighted to learn that it was based on a real raven. It's even thought that the "bust of Pallas" that the bird perches upon in the poem is a reference to the bust of Athena at the Athenaeum. The archivists were initially confused that there was no record of this bust, until discovering it was listed as the Roman counterpart, Minerva!

The Athenaeum also holds one of Napoleon's death masks, and a small collection of Joseph Bonaparte's possessions from his time in New Jersey. It seems, whatever history we're exploring, it always comes back to Napoleon somehow!

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That's all for this week, but we'll be back with some soundtracks and more news very soon! Thanks, as always for supporting the channel.

Toby