Step back in time and hear real-life stories from 1945,

with the National Memorial Arboretum's new program, the year was 1945.

Marking 80 years since the end of World War II,

the program opens with a weekend of VE Day celebrations on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of May,

featuring live performances and more.

Plus, you can join exhibitions, commemorative services, talks and

tours of the Arboretum stunning 150 acre grounds throughout the year too. Designed for all ages,

the year was 1945, is perfect for reflecting and making new memories with your loved ones.

Plan your visit today at the nma.org.uk slash 1945.

Hello and welcome to Life of the Week from History Extra, where leading historians

delve into the lives of history's most intriguing and significant figures.

She supercharged Mark Anthony's rise to power, whipped up gang violence, went to war with Octavian,

and maybe, just maybe, abused Cicero's decapitated head with a hairpin.

Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizzen, Jane Dracott explores the life of Folvia, the extraordinary figure who

rewrote the rulebook of what a woman could achieve in the cutthroat world of ancient Roman politics.

We're here to talk about the extraordinary life of the ancient Roman noblewoman, Falvia. So I wonder, Jane, if you could start by giving us a

brief overview of Fulvia's life. Who was she in a nutshell? Right. Well, she was the last member of two very significant Roman noble families, or at least they had been

significant in the past. By the time we get to Fulvia's birth in around 80 BCE, they do seem to have

really lost the shine a little bit. They're not as politically or militarily

important or influential as they had been. So she's born in about 80 and we don't know very

much about her for the first 15, 20 years of her life because our ancient sources generally

aren't interested in children, male or female, definitely not female. And so we hear about

...