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Dark Britain

Dark Britain

Written by: Present History
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About this listen

Present History presents Dark Britain, a podcast that recounts the darkest parts of British history. It’s Historical True Crime, if you will.


Developed by Zachary Peatling and Chloe Storer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Present History True Crime World
Episodes
  • Mary Carr: Queen of the Victorian Underworld

    Mary Carr: Queen of the Victorian Underworld
    Oct 23 2025
    Mary Carr, a masterful con artist and pickpocket, led the notorious Forty Elephants — an all-female gang known for their daring heists, scams, and blackmail. Carr’s rise was born of necessity. One woman rose to prominence, commanding fear and respect in equal measure: Mary Carr, the formidable leader of the Forty Elephants — one of the most notorious all-female gangs in London’s history. Her story is one of resilience, cunning, and ruthless ambition, shaped by the unforgiving streets of Victorian London.

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    7 mins
  • Hezekiah Moscow: The Unexpected King of Victorian Boxing

    Hezekiah Moscow: The Unexpected King of Victorian Boxing
    Oct 17 2025

    Hezekiah Moscow, a Jamaican immigrant whose journey to the East End was driven by dreams far removed from the blood and grime of the boxing ring. Moscow arrived in London with an unlikely ambition: to become a lion tamer. In the dazzling, dangerous world of Victorian music halls and traveling shows, exotic animal trainers were treated as stars, commanding both fear and admiration. For a man from the West Indies, a career among London’s entertainers promised a path to fame and financial stability - a far cry from the backbreaking labor offered to most immigrants.


    Moscow’s rise in the ring was meteoric. By 1882, he was a household name - at least in East London - celebrated not only for his prowess as a lightweight boxer but also for his larger-than-life personality.

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    6 mins
  • Sugar Goodson: The Most Brutal Boxer in Victorian London

    Sugar Goodson: The Most Brutal Boxer in Victorian London
    Oct 8 2025
    Sugar Goodson was a man who seemed born from the very spirit of Victorian London’s East End - rough, relentless, and utterly unwilling to back down. His life story was a chaotic blend of triumph, violence, and rebellion, embodying the hard-edged world of bare-knuckle boxing where the line between sport and survival was razor-thin. Unlike the polished athletes that would come to define boxing in later decades, Goodson wasn’t a man shaped by training regimes or strategic coaching. He was a fighter forged in the alleys and pubs of the East End, driven by a raw instinct to endure - and win.

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    10 mins
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