History Extra Podcast

Episode: When was the best time in English history to be alive?
Date: December 22, 2025
Host: Spencer Mizzen (Immediate Media)
Guest: Dr. Ian Mortimer, historian and author

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode of the History Extra Podcast, host Spencer Mizzen is joined by renowned historian Dr. Ian Mortimer to explore his immersive approach to English history. Based on Mortimer's new book, which journeys through the 14th century, Elizabethan Age, Restoration, and Regency periods, the conversation examines what life was truly like in these eras, challenges romanticized notions of the past, and tackles the ultimate question: When was the best time in English history to be alive? Drawing on historical anecdotes and comparative analysis, Mortimer emphasizes not only how people differed across centuries, but also what unites us with our ancestors.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The “A to Z” Performances – Engaging Audiences with History

Time: 02:32 – 04:51

• Mortimer describes how his A to Z talks began as a promotional tool for his Time Traveller’s Guide series, using the alphabet as a playful narrative device to encapsulate entire historical periods.
• The immersive, ad-lib structure made them enjoyable for diverse audiences, allowing him to “[jump] really quickly from factual material which is going to hit people to... something which has got pathos or whatever. You can change the mood.” (Ian Mortimer, 03:37)

Selecting Historical Periods

Time: 04:51 – 06:36

• Mortimer explains his focus on the medieval (14th century), Elizabethan, Restoration, and Regency eras, citing both personal interest and the distinctiveness of each.
• He notes that as periods become more modern, they become harder to surprise audiences with and vastly more complex to encapsulate:
  • “The closer you get to the modern world, the less surprised people are, the more they know it already and the more complicated every single point is.” (Ian Mortimer, 05:45)

Immersive History as a Tool for Understanding Ourselves

Time: 06:36 – 09:00

• Mortimer champions an immersive approach—encouraging readers and listeners to imagine themselves in another era as a way to bring meaning to history.
• He argues that academic history has become somewhat removed from the public due to its focus on demonstrating deep knowledge rather than conveying meaning.
• Notable quote:
  • “By using an immersive approach, I can remind people that these are real people we’re talking about. We’re not talking about abstract stories or things that don’t matter to them.” (Ian Mortimer, 07:18)
• He critiques the academic penchant for overwhelming with evidence:
  • “The academic process tends to sort of be a sledgehammer frequently in order to crack a nut.” (Ian Mortimer, 08:21)

Lessons for the Modern Age

Time: 09:00 – 11:37

• Mortimer suggests that comparative study across centuries can offer deeper insights into how society functions, especially in times of crisis like famine or plague.
• On human adaptability:
  • Despite great differences, “there’s a lot more similarity than we would really want to admit.” (Ian Mortimer, 11:25)
• He reflects on how, while people’s beliefs and daily life have changed greatly, basic human resilience and adaptability remain constants.

The Harsh Realities of the Past

Time: 11:37 – 13:17

• Asked which period he’d prefer to live in, Mortimer is honest about the brutal realities of pre-modern England—specifically, poor medical care and short life expectancy:
  • “Whenever the medical assistance is the best. None of them in this particular case.” (Ian Mortimer, 11:50)
  • He cautions against viewing any period through rose-tinted glasses, emphasizing that “the life expectancy at birth was short,” and even surviving adults had limited prospects.

Shifts in Popularity of Historical Periods

Time: 13:17 – 15:34

• Regency’s popularity has only grown, partly due to cultural phenomena like “Bridgerton,” although Mortimer notes that this often glamorizes the era and ignores its hardships.
• The Restoration period, however, remains overlooked, perhaps due to its complexity and transitional nature:
  • “There is this period where we're shifting from the strangely different religious, violent society of pre modern times to the modern. And that cusp, the scientific revolution...is a period of such confusion to people. They haven't got a handle on it and they avoid it.” (Ian Mortimer, 14:22)
• Notable transformation: Trust shifting from God to professionals.

Surprising Anecdotes from English History

The Black Death & Life Expectancy

Time: 18:43 – 20:33

• Mortimer discusses how the Black Death paradoxically increased life expectancy because survivors had more resources and better diets:
  • “The improved diet all round meant that people had a better standard of living, ate better and could live longer.” (Ian Mortimer, 19:56)

Elizabethan Kissing & Good Fellowship

Time: 20:33 – 22:19

• Foreign visitors marveled at Elizabethan Londoners’ penchant for kissing—a contrast to the English reputation for reserve.
  • “I've got no idea how it came up, really. I mean, when I came across it, I did come across it through all the foreign accounts.” (Ian Mortimer, 20:54)
• Mortimer notes a culture of “good fellowship” in ale houses, suggesting English sociability might be underestimated.

Fighting Fire with Beer: The Last Pub in Northampton

Time: 22:19 – 24:06

• Shares a story from the Great Fire of Northampton (1675): pub-goers saved their tavern by hauling barrels of beer onto the roof and pouring them over the building to keep the flames at bay.
  • “Members of a pub decide to fight fire with beer and win.” (Ian Mortimer, 23:57)

The Regency, Economic Forces, and Inequality

Time: 24:06 – 26:27

• Despite technological and economic advances, inequality soared during the 18th century due to industrialization and surging populations:
  • “Their real wealth hugely diminishes. The real wealth of the person who owns the land or the person who's employing them is skyrocketing.” (Ian Mortimer, 25:11)
• Life expectancy for the urban working class dropped dramatically in some towns.

The Triumph of Liberty

Time: 26:27 – 28:27

• Mortimer identifies the rise of individual freedom over seven centuries as the English people’s “greatest achievement”:
  • “Seeing the last 700 years as being a reversal of that, not giving up freedoms, reclaiming freedoms...this seemed to me the most remarkable and yet unsung achievement.” (Ian Mortimer, 27:25)

Inspiring a Love of History in Children

Time: 28:27 – 30:21

• Mortimer recalls how visiting castles as a child made history come alive, advocating for hands-on, experiential learning:
  • “There's gotta be something experiential along those lines. It's not gonna come from a book, it's not gonna come from being told something—people need to see for themselves.” (Ian Mortimer, 28:50)
• He notes that many historians were inspired not by textbooks but by historical fiction or immersive experiences.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the immersive method:
  “By using an immersive approach, I can remind people that these are real people we’re talking about. We’re not talking about abstract stories or things that don’t matter to them.”
  (Ian Mortimer, 07:18)

• On academic history:
  “The academic process tends to sort of be a sledgehammer frequently in order to crack a nut.”
  (Ian Mortimer, 08:21)

• On human adaptability:
  “In some respects, these people are very, very different in the way they behave. But in other respects, I think there's a lot more similarity than we would really want to admit.”
  (Ian Mortimer, 11:25)

• On the brutality of the past:
  “The realities of life in the past times are that they were brutal...I think we should have no rosy picture of the past for those reasons.”
  (Ian Mortimer, 11:51)

• On the shift in trust (faith to science):
  “Going from greatest trust in a divine entity to greatest trust in our own capabilities. And yet people avoid it.”
  (Ian Mortimer, 14:58)

• On life expectancy after the Black Death:
  “The improved diet all round meant that people had a better standard of living, ate better and could live longer.”
  (Ian Mortimer, 19:56)

• On the zenith of English achievement:
  “We have seen the most remarkable shift and I think that is something to champion.”
  (Ian Mortimer, 28:19)

• On how to foster love of history:
  “There's gotta be something experiential along those lines. It's not gonna come from a book...people need to see for themselves.”
  (Ian Mortimer, 28:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:32 – Ian Mortimer discusses his A to Z talks and approach
• 04:51 – Why these four periods?
• 06:36 – Immersive history and why it matters
• 08:21 – On historians and evidence
• 09:09 – What history teaches us about ourselves
• 11:37 – Which period would Mortimer prefer to live in?
• 13:29 – Trends in audience interest over time
• 18:43 – Black Death, life expectancy, and surprising outcomes
• 20:53 – Elizabethan kissing and “good fellowship”
• 22:19 – Beer vs. fire: the Great Northampton pub save
• 24:35 – Inequality in the Regency and Industrial Revolution
• 26:41 – The rise of liberty as England’s greatest achievement
• 28:50 – How to inspire a love of history in young people

Conclusion

This episode is a treasure trove for history enthusiasts, blending captivating stories, critical analysis, and passionate advocacy for understanding history as lived experience. Dr. Ian Mortimer invites listeners not just to learn facts, but to reflect on what connects us to our ancestors and what lessons we might draw from different eras. He reminds us that the greatest transformation of English history is the unsung, hard-won liberty enjoyed today.