Rainy Empire Island ft. Charlotte Lydia Riley

Welcome to a new series of Cursed Objects! For the first episode back, very special guest historian Charlotte Lydia Riley brings in a souvenir mug commemorating the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 – where the very normal exhibits included a working coalmine, a model of the Prince of Wales sculpted out of butter, and… actual human beings brought back from the colonies to the metropole. Charlotte explains how groups like the Union of African Students pushed back, and the imperial undertones of Winnie the Pooh and Adrian Mole.  We discuss Charlotte’s brilliant new book Imperial Island, about empire in the 20th century, and whether reading deep into everyday pop culture is the best way to escape the official narrative of empire. What did you learn about the British Empire at school??   Imperial Island is out now - go and get it immediately, you won't regret it: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/442125/imperial-island-by-riley-charlotte-lydia/9781847926432  Charlotte can be found here: https://twitter.com/lottelydia   *** Why not join our Patreon? *** ONLY £4 A MONTH TO SUPPORT YOUR FAVOURITE CULTURAL HISTORIANS, IN EXCHANGE FOR 20+ BONUS EPISODES AND A CURSED OBJECTS STICKER PACK Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick Artwork: Archie Bashford