Breasts, clitoris, hymen, and womb. Across history, these body parts have told women who they are and what they should do. Although knowledge of each part has changed through time, none of them tells a simple story. Author Helen King is here to tell all, as we discuss her new book Immaculate Forms: A History of the Female Body in Four Parts.

Buy a copy of Immaculate Forms by Helen King.

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Black British history reaches all the way back to the Roman age, so why do many people assume it began with the 20th-century Windrush generation? Author Elle Machray joins us to discuss the real Black British history that inspired their 18th-century historical novel Remember, Remember.

Order a copy of Elle's book Remember, Remember.

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No discussion of 18th-century revolutions is complete without including the Haitian Revolution. We're joined this week by Marlene L. Daut to learn about Henry Christophe, a key leader in the Haitian Revolution and the only monarch of the Kingdom of Haiti.

Order a copy of Marlene's book, The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe.

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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.

Episode image is a statue of Æthelflæd, erected in Tamworth in 2018. Artist is Luke Perry (not that one).

References:

Founder, Fighter, Saxon Queen: Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians by Margaret C. Jones

Æthelflæd: Lady of the Mercians by Tim Clarkson

Æthelflæd: England's Forgotten Founder (A Ladybird Expert Book) by Tom Holland

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As my gift to you all, enjoy this newly-edited (just for audio issues, not for content!) discussion of the 2001 movie A Knight's Tale with myself, Allison Epstein, and Lana Wood Johnson! Spoiler: we all LOVED it.

Want to hear more episodes of Vulgarpiece Theatre? Join the Patreon!

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Gráinne Ní Mháille was a 16th-century woman who led the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland. She is an iconic heroine of Irish history, so we needed an iconic Irish-Scottish guest and that's why Katie Charlwood (from Who Did What Now?) is here to celebrate her in a crossover! Who Did What Vulgar History Now?

Learn more about Katie and Who Did What Now!

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William Shakespeare dedicated many of his sonnets to someone known only as the Dark Lady. Novelist Mary McMyne imagines that this was maybe a witch named Rose in her new novel, A Rose by Any Other Name. Mary joins us to talk about her book, and Shakespeare, in this week's episode!

Click here to buy a copy of A Rose By Any Other Name.

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Cassie Chadwick, one of history's most successful con artists, was a master of reinvention. In the dusk of the Gilded Age, she swept from town to town, assuming fresh identities to swindle a fortune so large that it rivaled the robber barons of the time.

Annie Reed, author of a new biography of Cassie Chadwick, joins us to share the saga of one of history's earliest scam goddesses.

Click here to buy a copy of The Imposter Heiress: Cassie Chadwick, the Greatest Grifter of the Gilded Age.

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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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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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