The death of Thomas Overbury, part 2

August 9, 2023

Mirror mirror on the wall, who really killed Thomas Overbury? We’re getting deep into what might just be the weirdest trial we’ve ever covered on this show, with accusations flying about witchcraft, a poisoned enema, Spanish treachery, and a cameo from Sir Francis Bacon.

Featured image: An engraving of Sir Thomas Overbury from around 1615 or 1616, along with a poem praising the dead man’s good character. (Image source)

Sir Edward Coke in 1615. (Image source)

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Sir Francis Bacon, painted in 1617. (Image source)

File:Harvard Theatre Collection - TCS 63 - Covent Garden, 1777.jpg

A playbill for a dramatization of the death of Sir Thomas Overbury from 1777. So over a century later, this story was still in circulation. (Image source)

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