Link to Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-history-a-dynasty-to-die-for/id1641568639?i=1000584587895
Dan Jones begins this podcast in the year 1152. Eleanor of Aquitaine is on the run. The introduction caught my attention. After reeling me in and having me wondering why Eleanor is on the run, Jones goes back in time to outline the events that led up to her decision to run.
The podcast is relatively short, so there isn’t much time for a deep dive into all of the events covered in the podcast. It does provide an entertaining listen. While listening I would liked to have had one sentence added at some point in the story to outline what would have happened to Eleanor if she hadn’t run away. Would she have been sent to a convent, murdered, locked away in prison? I would also be curious to know how long after the marriage ended Eleanor decided to run or were they still married when she made her ride to freedom?
The episode ends on a cliffhanger making me want to continue listening to the next episode, which I will probably do right after I write this. After listening to this podcast my biggest complaint is that I wish it was about 5 minutes longer. Overall this is an entertaining podcast that I have added to my library.
I have enjoyed the previous books I read by Ben Macintyre. I picked this one up not knowing anything about Ursula Kuczynski. She grew up to be a very successful spy for the Soviet Union and received the code name Agent Sonya. I looked forward to reading this. Shortly after I began reading I was hoping I would read about when she would be caught.
Ursula lived a remarkable life. Born in Germany and coming of age in the 1920’s she was exposed to a world of turmoil. She became a committed communist early in life and would not be deterred from her ideology.
She traveled the world first leaving Germany for the United States partially to avoid marriage. She became a member of the Communist Party of the United States. After a stint in the USA she returned to Germany and married the man she had left behind. His career took them to China where her career as a spy began. From there she traveled to the Soviet Union for additional training and continued to work as a spy throughout Europe.
I found it ...
