Vulgar History: Regency Era

Lady Jane Grey (c. 1537 – 12 February 1554) was kinda the first-ever woman to rule England, except she was technically a girl and technically sort of didn't actually rule? Hence this whole season-long discussion. Anyway, this week is LJG's time to shine!! Learn about how and why she sort of reigned for nine days, how and why she was executed, and most importantly: how will she score on our scandil...

Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (16 July 1517 – 20 November 1559), was an English noblewoman. As the daughter of Mary Tudor and niece of Henry VIII, she was of royal lineage and in the line of succession. She was also the stepdaughter of Katherine Willoughby, and the mother of Lady Jane Grey, Lady Katherine Grey, and Lady Mary Grey. But mostly as the Kris Jenner of her age, she was a behind-the-s...

Anne Askew (1521-1546) was one of the earliest-known female poets to compose in the English language, the first Englishwoman to demand a divorce, and wound up the only recorded woman to be tortured in the Tower of London. She died via explosion when one of her supporters hid gunpowder in the pyre for her execution by burning. An icon!  References:  The Queen and the Heretic: How Two Women Changed...

Catherine Parr (1512-1548) is best known for surviving being the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII. She had three other husbands, one of whom was worse than even Henry; she was held hostage; she broke new ground for women writers in England; she was a member of the Renaissance Reformation Girl Squad, AND ALSO she was the guardian to (and role model for) Lady Jane Grey.   References: Katherine the...

Katherine Willoughby de Eresby (22 March 1519 – 19 September 1580), later Katherine Brandon, then Katherine Bertie, was an English heiress, Protestant rebel, and overall total heroine. From a pretty gross start (being married at age 14 to her adoptive father figure), she wielded her wealth and privilege to support other women and Protestants.  References: The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry...

Mary Tudor (9 October 1514 – 1 January 1515), not to be confused with Queen Mary I or Mary, Queen of Scots, was briefly Queen of France. She then had a secret marriage to her boyfriend, Charles Brandon, and lived an interesting and -- dare I say -- scandlicious life. She was also the grandmother of Lady Jane Grey, which sets us up for this season's theme: How To Lose A Queen In Nine Days aka The L...

Smallpox was a highly contagious, deadly disease which likely first appeared around the 3rd century BCE in Egypt. From then on, it followed trade routes and colonization, decimating populations in many countries. The development of the smallpox vaccine can be traced back many centuries, to people in India, China, West Africa, and the Ottoman Empire who used a technique known of variolation to inje...

From 1485 - 1551, England experienced several epidemics of a mysterious illness known only as the sweating sickness. Unlike other diseases that affected the very young, very old, and the poor, this one seemed to target young, healthy, rich people. And two of the rich people affected were King Henry VIII and his mistress, Anne Boleyn. EDIT: Two corrections were brought to my attention after this ep...

Joanna of Naples (1326-1382) was Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily for thirty action-packed and highly scandilicious years. This story has it all: kidnappings! Revenge murders! Evil popes! Evil husbands! Being trapped in an iron cage for fourteen years! The black plague! But how will Joanna herself score on our scandilicious scale? The results may SURPRISE YOU!! — References: Queens of Infamy...

Anne I (1665 – 1714), best known as the main character of the movie The Favourite, was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland and then of Great Britain and Ireland for twelve years. Her life story is a gossip buffet of rivalry, death, and resiliency. But how will she score on the scandilicious scale?? References: Queen Anne: Politics and Passion by Anne Somerset The Favourite: The Life of Sarah Ch...

In 1665, the tiny English town of Eyam was beset by the same plague that was affecting London. Under the guidance of the town's reverend, the villagers agreed to quarantine themselves in order to protect nearby villages. After fourteen months, all but 83 of the town's 344 residents had died. References: Eyam Historic Plague Village (the town's current website): www.eyamvillage.org.uk Did this slee...

Charles II de Valois (1522-1545) was the third son of the French King Francis I. He died very young from an entirely preventable and ridiculous pillow fight related situation in the middle of a plague-ridden town.  References:  Francis I: The Maker of Modern France by Leonie Frieda Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orleans (Wikipedia) Vulgar History is an affiliate of Bookshop.org, which means that a...

Juana I of Castile (1479-1555) was the third child of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. She's remembered now for being "Juana La Loca/Juana The Mad" but, in fact, that reputation was just part of a larger scheme that found her caught between her ambitious and terrible husband and her ambitious and terrible father. References: Sister Queens: The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon...

Joan of England (1335-1348) was the first known English person to die of the bubonic plague. She set out with a massive entourage from England to Castile to meet her betrothed, didn't listen to warnings in Bordeaux about the plague, and then lived through a horror movie of mass death. If you find this sort of story interesting right now, here you go! If you don't want to hear about lots of people...

Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504) was one of the most significant figures in world history. We continue this season’s theme of Women Leaders In History And The Men Who Whined About Them with the Isabella's journey from little girl trapped in a ghost castle to teenage war mediator to PR stunt inventor to genocidal dictator! This is a heavy one, so get ready. References: Isabella of Castile: Europe'...

Empress Matilda (1102 - 1167) was the daughter, wife, and mother of Kings. She also should have been England's first crowned female monarch, but the patriarchy got in the way. She also once escaped by camouflaging herself in white cloaks in the snow!! A true legend. References: Matilda: Empress, Warrior, Queen by Catherine Hanley She-Wolves by Helen Castor — Sign up for the Vulgar History mailing...

Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians was a significant figure in English history. Not only did she repel Viking invaders through the clever use of BOILING BEER and BEES, she also worked alongside her brother Edward to see through their father's goal of a united England. Also: BEES. References: Founder, Fighter, Saxon Queen: Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians by Margaret C. Jones Æthelflæd: Lady of the M...

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.  Referenced in this episode: Boudica: Warrior Woman of the Roman Empire by Caitlin C. Gillespie Other stuff: History writing: annfosterwriter.com Recommended books: bookshop.org/lists/vulgar-histor...

Julia Agrippina Augusta, aka Agrippina Minor aka Agrippina the Younger, was a completely badass woman in ancient Rome. She leveraged her power as first the sister of the Emperor, then the wife of the Emperor, then the mother of the Emperor (three separate Emperors) to break new ground for Roman women. She also murdered a lot of people. Her placement on the Scandilicious Scale may SURPRISE YOU  Ref...

As the first part of our new series "Women Leaders And The Men Who Whined About Them," we take it all the way back to the first century BCE and the legendary Egyptian Pharaoh Cleopatra VII. Growing up amid non-stop familial murder, she cannily usurped control of the kingdom from her relatives and teamed up with Rome. But where will she wind up on the Scandalicious Scale??  Reference: Cleopatra: A...

Bonus!! This is a preview of So This Asshole, a new spinoff podcast available through my Patreon. This side series will share the wild stories of some of the many, many assholes involved in the stories of the women profiled on the main Vulgar History podcast. This episode is all about Giuseppe Balsamo, aka Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (1743-1795), who was briefly mentioned in the Vulgar History...

Lucy Percy Hay, Countess of Carlisle (1599-1660) was a British noblewoman known for her espionage work surrounding the English Civil War. But she was not just a spy... was a #LADYSPY, mentored by one of the most memorable heroines of a previous Vulgar History episode!! Will it all be enough for her to take the top spot in our Scandalicious Scale??  Mentioned in this episode:  Sweet Valley Sagas by...

Mary Toft (1701 - 1763) was an English peasant who became notorious for her involvement in her family's scheme to pretend she'd given birth to seventeen rabbits. The story is profoundly, continuingly, and rage-inducingly bananas. Content warnings: animal cruelty/killing, nonconsensual gynecological procedures, Nathanael St. Andre References: The Imposteress Rabbit Breeder: Mary Toft and Eighteenth...

Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (7 August 1560 – 21 August 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman who, for a time, oversaw more properties and estates than anyone else in Europe. Her undoing came about when the Palatine of Hungary accused her and four servants of mass murder, and she's now remembered as more of a myth than a person. Did she really commit these gruesome crimes, and bathe in the blood...

Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, Comtesse de la Motte (22 July 1756 – 23 August 1791) was an illegitimate descendant of the French royal family who became famous on her own as AN INCREDIBLY CLEVER CON ARTIST/HEROINE! But how will she score on the Scandalicious Scale?? Mentioned in this episode: How to Ruin a Queen by Jonathan Beckman Frock Flicks review of the hats and wigs in The Affair of the Neckla...