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The History Islands

The History Islands

Written by: Paul Darroch
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 Immersive history, legends and myths from Jersey in the Channel Islands.2023 Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary World
Episodes
  • Charlie Chaplin in Jersey

    Charlie Chaplin in Jersey
    Feb 2 2026

    In the summer of 1912 an unknown Charlie Chaplin stepped onto the stage of the Jersey Opera House.

    He arrived in Jersey a complete unknown, just a few short years out of the London workhouse. Yet his performance as the Inebriated Swell drew rapturous applause, and he was captured on cine-camera for the very first time.

    Destiny was calling.

    ________________________

    Reading from Jersey: The Hidden Histories by Paul Darroch

    Music: Chariots by Gavin Luke, courtesy of Epidemic Sound
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    15 mins
  • The Ghost Bride of The Watermills

    The Ghost Bride of The Watermills
    Dec 18 2025

    Welcome to Series 3 of the History Islands. In my new book, Illustrated Tales of Jersey, I have shared some of the myths and legends that shaped our Island.

    There are many more yet to be told.

    This is one of them - the story of the Ghost Bride of the Watermills.

    It is one of Jersey's most haunting and poignant legends.

    __________________

    Links to Paul's books

    • Illustrated Tales of Jersey (Amberley Publishing, 2025)
    • Jersey: Secrets of the Sea (Seaflower Books, 2019)
    • Jersey: The Hidden Histories (Seaflower Books, 2015)

    (c) Paul Darroch 2025

    Music credits - Chariots by Gavin Luke, courtesy of Epidemic Sound
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    14 mins
  • Into the Night - Louisa's Story

    Into the Night - Louisa's Story
    Apr 6 2025

    I'm Paul Darroch, and welcome to a feature-length episode of the History Islands. This is the true story of Louisa Journeaux, and it's taken from my second book, Jersey: Secrets of the Sea.

    It is the Spring of 1886 when the tragic story of an ordinary Jersey girl grips the imagination of Jersey press and people alike. This unsettling series of events fulfilled so many of the sensibilities of any Victorian narrative, offering original sin, a damsel in distress, a dramatic court trial, a terrible ordeal and a surprising deus ex machina resolution. Yet this quintessentially Victorian tale belongs in no penny dreadful or Dickens periodical. It is the astonishing true story of Miss Louisa Journeaux, a guileless young lady from St Clement.

    (c) Paul Darroch 2025

    Music: Chariots by Gavin Luke, courtesy of Epidemic Sound.
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    28 mins
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