Episoder
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Slut. Shrew. Sinful. Scold. The 19th- and early 20th-century American women profiled in Therese Oneill's new book Unbecoming A Woman were called all these names and worse when they were alive. And that’s just fine.
Therese joins us to celebrate these women who forever changed what women can become.
Click here to buy a copy of Unbecoming A Lady: The Forgotten Sluts and Shrews Who Shaped America.
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Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an English aristocrat, medical pioneer, writer, and poet. She learned about the practice of smallpox inoculation while in the Ottoman Empire, and lobbied to bring the practice to England. We're joined by Sean Lusk, author of A Woman of Opinion, a new novel about Mary's life.
Click here to buy a copy of A Woman of Opinion.
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Hilary Mantel's essay on the importance of historical fiction.
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Mangler du episoder?
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It's a crossover special! Last month, I went on The Art of Crime to share the story of Princess Caraboo (not her real name). And today, we're playing that episode here in the Vulgar History feed. Gavin Whitehead and I talk about the enigmatic Princess Caraboo, who claimed to be an exotic princess who washed up on English shores in 1817. But who was she really?
Learn more about Gavin's show The Art of Crime at artofcrimepodcast.com
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Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, aka Adélaïde Des Vertus was one of the greatest female painters in 18th-century France. The path was not easy for female painters in 18th-century France, especially when you were born working-class like she was. But her knack at making friends, a PR rivalry with another painter, and the excellence of her work ensured she made a living in art... until the French Revolution.
We're joined by Bridget Quinn, author of the recent biography Portrait of a Woman: Art, Rivalry, and Revolution in the Life of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard.
Click here to buy a copy of Bridget's book.
Look at a gallery of Adélaïde's work on her Wikipedia page here.
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It's a Halloween special! While the French Revolution turned into The Terror, people still had to keep working their regular jobs, including today's heroine: Madame Tussaud. And along with her mentor, she managed to turn the Terror into big business for her wax museum, such that many people still know her name today!
Joining us is Gavin Whitehead, host of the Art of Crime podcast. Learn more about his show (including his Madame Tussaud series) at artofcrimepodcast.com
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As mentioned in the extro, Leah Redmond Chang's Substack about pregnancy death.
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Bonus! I'm hard at work right now writing my book Rebel of the Regency, a biography of Caroline of Brunswick (coming in 2026 published by Hanover Square Press!). I want to share part of the journée with you all, which is why I'm posting short podcast updates about it on my Patreon.
This is a preview of one of the episodes, in which friend-of-the-podcast Allison Epstein joins me while I yell about how many Napoleon Bonaparte relatives show up in the Caroline saga.
Subscribe to hear more of these bonus episodes by joining my Patreon (for free) at patreon.com/annfosterwriter
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In this instalment of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Marie Antoinette, we wrap up the saga of a man who Marie Antointte truly hated, the Marquis de Lafayette. And joining us to share the legendary life of this dirtbag (complimentary) is friend of the podcast Allison Epstein!
As mentioned in the episode, here is more info on the French revolutionary calendar.
Allison's new book Fagin the Thief comes out in February 2025. Click here to preorder a copy.
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In this instalment of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Marie Antoinette, we look at a man who really annoyed her: the Marquis de Lafayette. And joining us to share the legendary life of this dirtbag (complimentary) is friend of the podcast Allison Epstein!
Allison's new book Fagin the Thief comes out in February 2025. Click here to preorder a copy.
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Get 15% off all the gorgeous jewellery and accessories at common.era.com/vulgar or go to commonera.com and use code VULGAR at checkout
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Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
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Support Vulgar History on Patreon
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As our discussion of Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution continues, we're looking at the life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Saint-Georges was a mixed-race man born to an enslaved woman and her enslaver in Guadaloupe. Sent to Paris to be educated, his athleticism and musical gifts made him a celebrity.
We're joined today by Professor Julian Ledford, Assistant Professor of French and French Studies at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
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References:
The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow by Gabriel Banat
Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Man of Music and Gentleman-at-Arms: The Life and Times of an Eighteenth-Century Prodigy by Gabriel Banat
Joseph Boulogne, the Chevalier de Saint-George and the Problem With Black Mozart by Julian A. Ledford
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Support Vulgar History on Patreon
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We're back on the Marie Antoinette train, and in Season 7 Part 2 the topic is "Meanwhile, Back in France."
We're joined again by Amanda Matta to wrap up the scandalous saga of Madame du Barry.
Follow Amanda on:
TikTok
Instagram
Substack
And keep up with her podcast, The Art of History!
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Reference:
Madame du Barry: The Wages of Beauty by Joan Haslip
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We're back on the Marie Antoinette train, and in Season 7 Part 2 the topic is "Meanwhile, Back in France."
To explain the French royal court system that Marie Antoinette eventually joined, we're taking a look at notorious mistress Madame du Barry in a saga so iconic it can't be contained in one podcast episode.
Our guest this week is everyone's favourite TikTok royal commentator, Amanda Matta!
Follow Amanda on:
TikTok
Instagram
Substack
And keep up with her podcast, The Art of History!
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Reference:
Madame du Barry: The Wages of Beauty by Joan Haslip
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Get 15% off all the gorgeous jewellery and accessories at common.era.com/vulgar or go to commonera.com and use code VULGAR at checkout
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Support Vulgar History on Patreon
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This used to be a Patreon-only bonus episode, but now everyone can hear it!
Since we'll be discussing Versailles in upcoming episodes, it felt appropriate to share this episode about Louis XIV aka The Sun King, who basically invented that whole scenario.
To hear more bonus episodes, subscribe at the $5/month or higher level at patreon.com/annfosterwriter
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It's a rerelease of a classic Vulgar History episode, now with better editing! Boudica was Queen of the Iceni, a Celtic tribe during the Roman conquest of Britain. She led a rebellion of united tribes against their Roman invaders, leaving a path of death and bloodshed in her wake.
Reference:
Boudica: Warrior Woman of the Roman Empire by Caitlin C. Gillespie
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Intro ends/story starts 01:49
Ad break 21:34
Outro starts 44:58
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This week, we're revisiting a classic Vulgar History episode. Agrippina the Younger was also the sister, wife/niece, and mother of three different Roman emperors and also one of the villainesses in the 1976 BBC miniseries I, Claudius!
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Reference:
Agrippina: The Most Extraordinary Woman of the Roman World by Emma Southon (now available in paperback!)
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There was no way I could revisit the Cleopatra episode and score without getting Gina Berry's assistance! She was a guest on our epic Nefertiti and Hatshepsut episodes, and now she's here to talk all things Cleo. As ever, when the two of us get together, it will be at LEAST 2 hours of episode.
I recommend listening to the Cleopatra episode first before diving into this discussion, but you do you.
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Reference:
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
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Remember in early 2020 when we were doing the season Women Leaders and the Men Who Whined About Them? This was the first episode of that series, now remastered by Cristina for improved audio quality! Plus, a special new intro and extro!
Coming up next week: we revisit Cleo's score with a very special guest.
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Intro ends: 04:07
Ad break: 34:54
Story ends: 1:13:58
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Reference:
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
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Sign up for updates on the Vulgar History meet-ups in Edinburgh and London!
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Support Vulgar History on Patreon
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Ona Judge Staines, also known as Oney Judge, was born in 1774 into enslavement at Mount Vernon, the plantation owned by George and Martha Washington. She travelled with the Washingtons to New York City and Philadelphia, where she would eventually escape. In this week's episode, we hear about how she made that happen.
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Story starts: 02:15
Ad break: 49:53
Story ends: 1:10:09
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The episode image is an interpretive panel from Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia PA.
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Reference:
Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
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Sign up for updates on the Vulgar History meet-ups in Edinburgh and London!
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Ona Judge Staines, also known as Oney Judge, was born in 1774 into enslavement at Mount Vernon, the plantation owned by George and Martha Washington. She travelled with the Washingtons to New York City and Philadelphia, where she would eventually escape.
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Story starts 04:39
AD BREAK: 28:30
Story ends: 54:20
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Reference:
Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
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The episode image is an interpretive panel from Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia PA.
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Learn more about the Brister English Project, a non-profit passionate about connecting American descendants of chattel slavery with their ancestry.
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Buy tickets to The Edinburgh Seven at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
GoFundMe to support The Edinburgh Seven Fringe show
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Support Vulgar History on Patreon
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In the second part of Peggy Shippen's scandalous saga, we see Philadelphia throw one of its classic riots, and she and Benedict visit a variety of places including my own hometown in Nova Scotia!
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Intro ends/story starts 04:07
Ad break: 30:11
Story ends/outro starts 1:01:04
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Reference:
Defiant Brides: The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-era Women and the Radical Men They Married, by Nancy Rubin Stuart
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Peggy Shippen was living a Revolutionary-era brat summer when she married the worst possible person, and things went buck wild from there. Featuring: most of the characters from Hamilton. And: the city of Philadelphia.
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Intro ends/story starts: 03:47
AD BREAK: 21:11
Story ends/outro starts: 47:30
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Reference:
Defiant Brides: The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-era Women and the Radical Men They Married, by Nancy Rubin Stuart
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Sign up for updates on the Vulgar History meet-ups in Edinburgh and London!
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Get 15% off all the gorgeous jewellery and accessories at common.era.com/vulgar or go to commonera.com and use code VULGAR at checkout
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Support Vulgar History on Patreon
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Vulgar History is an affiliate of Bookshop.org, which means that a small percentage of any books you click through and purchase will come back to Vulgar History as a commission. Use this link to shop there and support Vulgar History.
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