Vulgar History: Regency Era

The Tudors are the most famous dynasty in English history. Names like Anne Boleyn, Bloody Mary, and Henry VIII are still known today. This season on Vulgar History, we'll spill the tea on the notorious Tudors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zelda Fitzgerald is best known as the long-suffering wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald. But she was MUCH more interesting than he ever was, and we're here to tell her story. My guest this week is Alicia from Trashy Royals and Trashy Divorces, and she's got a LOT of feelings about Zelda. Listen to Alicia's podcasts Trashy Royals and Trashy Divorces wherever you get podcasts! AND stay tuned to the...

When John Adams was working to establish the United States of America, his wife, Abigail Adams, urged him to "remember the ladies" and grant women greater freedom. Who was Abigail Adams? America's first feminist? The most prolific letter-writer of all time? Queen Charlotte's number one hater? All of the above? We dig into her life with special guest Meredith Constant (from Off With Their Headlines...

Enjoy the first episode of the new podcast NeferTV with Ann Foster and Gina Berry! New episodes every alternate Monday. Subscribe to NeferTV wherever you get podcasts! Gina Berry has watched Spartacus: Blood and Sand many, many times. Ann Foster has never seen it before. Together, they will recap every episode of this series in our new podcast, NeferTV! New episodes every other Monday. In the firs...

Ancient Rome is often thought of as an ideal society where toga-clad men debated democracy while eating grapes. But in fact, the Roman Empire and Republic couldn't have existed without slavery. What were these enslaved people's lives like? Pretty awful, actually! Historian Emma Southon joins us to talk about slavery in Ancient Rome: what it was like, why people like to pretend it wasn't so bad, an...

NeferTV is a new TV recap podcast by Ann Foster and Gina Berry, where we talk about shows set in the ancient world. This season, we're going through every episode of SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND. Subscribe to NeferTV wherever you get podcasts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're joined by return guest Gina Berry (previously heard on our Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, and Livia episodes) to talk about Syrian icon Queen Zenobia. Queen Z was maybe descended from Cleopatra, and definitely defeated the Romans (several times) - and lived to tell the tale. Want more of Gina and me in your lives? Follow our new podcast NeferTV wherever you get podcasts! You can also foll...

English accents have been evolving ever since the first people started speaking this very strange language. People in historic films often speak with a modern British accent, and when they don't, people think it's inaccurate. But what did people really sound like during Shakespearean times? Or American Revolution times? Author and linguist Valerie Fridland joins us to discuss all these questions a...

Wallis Simpson was an American divorcee who won the heart of Prince Edward. In 1935, Edward abdicated as King so that he could marry Wallis. Meanwhile, his brother Prince Albert married Scottish noblewoman Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. For most of their lives, Elizabeth and Wallis hated each other. This dramatic real-life rivalry inspired The Windsor Affair, a new novel by Melanie Benjamin. Melanie joins...

Vulgar History x Betwixt The Sheets: the collab you never knew you needed! I was so excited to chat with Dr. Kate Lister of Betwixt the Sheets about her new book: Flick: A Brief History of Female Pleasure. Flick shares the story of female sexual pleasure from ancient Mesopotamia to the 1960s so-called sexual revolution and right up to modern day. Have you heard that proper British ladies would "si...

Jane Austen remains the most famous person who lived during the Regency Era. As a finale of our Regency Era podcast series, we look at why her books (and life) are still so popular today. Our guest is June Hur, a lifelong Jane Austen fan. June's newest book, Behind Five Willows reimagines Pride & Prejudice in 18th-century Korea, and features several Easter Eggs for Austen fans. Buy a copy of June...

ArtMuse is a podcast about the women who inspired great works of art: the muses, whose names often go unknown. This episode about Mary Robinson fits in perfectly with our Regency Era series, because she interacted with so many notable people of that era (like Emma Hamilton and trigger warning, Prinny). This is part one of two, so make sure to listen to part 2 on ArtMuse, wherever you get podcasts!...

Ada Lovelace was born during the Regency Era, the daughter of Annabella Milbanke and (trigger warning) Lord Byron. Her story brings us from the Georgian era into the Victorian era as she wielded her father's charisma and her mother's love of math to (very accurately) predict the dangers of AI. And also start a horse race gambling ring, pawn the family jewels, and invent a flying machine! Returning...

Lady Caroline Lamb was an author, party hostess, and occasional hot mess. Best known for her short affair with (trigger warning!) Lord Byron, she powered through Regency London with main character energy. Romance author Alexandra Vasti joins us to celebrate the audacious and Bravo TV-coded life of Lady Caroline Lamb. Preorder Alexandra's book Scandal of the Summer (affiliate link) Support our REGE...

Chevalière d'Éon was a French spy, championship fencer, soldier, and absolute icon. No wonder the Ton of Regency England became obsessed when she moved there. In this episode, originally from 2022, author Maya Deane joins us to explain d'Éon's audacious story and the importance of her life to queer and trans history. Buy a copy of Maya's book Wrath Goddess Sing Support our Trevor Project fundraise...

The mysterious woman known as Princess Caraboo took Regency Era England by storm. Speaking a language no one understood, she captivated the Ton... until her true identity was revealed. In this revisited episode (with 45 minutes of new content!), we're joined by Gavin Whitehead (The Art of Crime podcast) to discuss the audacious schemes of "Princess Caraboo." Learn more about Gavin's podcast The Ar...

Watch this episode as a video. Emma Hamilton was the ultimate artist's muse, posing for more portraits during her life than anyone before or after. She was also a political operative, helping the royal family during the Naples reverse-revolution, and facilitating ties between Britain and Naples. She was also, perhaps most famously, the lover of Lord Nelson (the military hero). And then she was era...

Click here to watch this episode as a video. Emma Hamilton was born as Amy Lyon, a poor girl with a murky background. Through a mixture of ambition and luck, her gorgeousness helped her rise out of poverty and into high society as the mistress of a powerful man. And her story was only starting. Guest co-host Amanda Matta joins us to discuss the incredible first part of Emma Hamilton's life story....

Click here to watch this episode as a video. The Regency Era is known for its gowns, balls, and Bridgerton-style love stories. But England at this time was also very superstitious, which is how Mary Bateman aka The Yorkshire Witch found numerous ways to grift people. From fortune-telling to magical hens to herbal remedies, Mary found ways to scam people by using their spiritual beliefs against the...

Rebecca Lehmann's new book The Beheading Game begins with Anne Boleyn, post-execution, waking up and reattaching her head. From there, this book explores life in Tudor era England, Anne Boleyn's quest for revenge (and to reunite with her daughter), and so much more. Rebecca joins us this week to talk about how she got the idea for this book, her research process, and what she really thinks about A...

Queen Charlotte on Bridgerton is inspired by the real-life Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom. On Bridgerton, Charlotte is shown as a Black woman living in Regency England. There have long been rumours about Charlotte’s real-life Black ancestry. To understand this complex situation, I sat down with two experts to learn more. In interviews recorded in 2023 and re...

Margaret Beaufort was one of the most important women in Medieval England. Her story has been twisted to make her a villain, even a murderer, but who was she really? Lauren Johnson joins us to discuss Margaret Beaufort's remarkable life - and bust some of the most pervasive myths about her. Learn more in Lauren's new book Margaret Beaufort: Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker. Buy Margaret Beaufort: Surviv...

Watch this as a video Sarah Biffin was one of the most sought-after portrait artists of the Regency Era, painting members of the royal family, including the King. How did a farmworker's daughter born without hands reach such success? Joining us to celebrate Sarah Biffin's iconic saga is special guest Kristen Lopez. Learn more about Sarah Biffin's work (and view some of her paintings) at the "Witho...

Grace Dalrymple Elliott was a courtesan in London, a spy in French Revolutionary Paris, the lover of two of history's most annoying Princes, and finally, a memoir-writer in the Regency Era. Our guest today, Gavin Whitehead (from The Art of History podcast) joins us to talk about the unending twists and turns of this woman's life! Listen to Gavin's new podcast, Raven, wherever you get podcasts! — ⁠...

Elizabeth Bathory is currently in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most prolific female serial killer. But was she? Author Shelley Puhak's new book The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster interrogates how and why Elizabeth Bathory got such a killer reputation, and what may have really happened all those years ago in her castle. Buy a copy of The Blood Countess (a...