Vulgar History
Vulgar History | Realm
- 1 hour 52 minutesHortense Mancini: It Girl of Restoration England
Hortense Mancini was the It Girl of 17th-century France, then put on a pair of pants and ran away from her awful husband. She then became It Girl in exile around the European continent, finally winding up in London as mistress to the Merry Monarch, Charles II. And then her life really began, as for the next two decades she hosted an influential salon in London.
Author and historian Annalisa Nicholson has two new books out about Hortense's life, especially her salon era. She joins us to celebrate the life of this underrated, iconic woman.
Watch this episode as a video.
Listen to the 2023 Vulgar History miniseries about Hortense Mancini here.
Read Annalisa's book about Hortense's salon for free online.
And buy Annalisa's book of Hortense's letters here! (affiliate link)
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24 December 2025, 5:00 am - 1 hour 56 minutesRachel: The One-Named Jewish Actress And Her Many, Many Lovers (revisited)
For this year's Hanukkah special, we're revisiting the timeless saga of RACHEL, the Jewish actress so iconic she needed only one name. It's so interesting to look at her story again after the French Revolution series, because it shows that Market Ladies: The Next Generation were just as riot-happy as the original Sans-Culottes Squad.
We're joined by Allison Epstein, our French Revolutionary history advisor, to discuss Rachel's (sexual) Napoleon complex, and all the revolutions that she lived through.
When we recorded this, Allison's book Fagin the Thief was not yet for sale. But now it is!!
Get a copy of Allison's book Fagin the Thief (affiliate link)
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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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17 December 2025, 5:00 am - 1 hour 27 minutesMary Shelley's Scandalous Sister, Claire Clairmont (Revisited)
We're in our Regency Era and just finished Mary Shelley Month, and Claire Clairmont REFUSES TO BE IGNORED. We're revisiting the story of this iconic woman, whose story feels even more meaningful now that we've learned about her (kind of) stepmother Mary Wollstonecraft, as well as more about the Regency Era in which Claire made her mark.
Plus, our guest Lesley McDowell's book Clairmont is now available in North America!! (It wasn't when we first recorded this a bit ago).
Click here to buy the Clairmont eBook. (aff link)
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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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10 December 2025, 5:00 am - 1 hour 6 minutesThe Regency Era and Consent
Ever since the novel was invented, women have used it as a platform for sharing ideas about sexual consent. In her new book Courting Disaster: Reading Between the Lines of the Regency Novel, Dr. Zoë McGee reveals how Jane Austen and other women writers from this time used their stories to try to change society's mind about rape culture - and to reassure survivors they were not alone.
Zoë joins us today to talk about how her research revealed a quiet feminist movement that still resonates today. Because every novel about marriage is also a novel about consent.
Buy a copy of Courting Disaster (affiliate link)
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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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3 December 2025, 5:00 am - 58 minutes 41 secondsThomas Jefferson, Monticello, and America's 250th Anniversary
It's (American) Thanksgiving, so here's a special American History episode! In this, you can hear my discussion with Dr. Jane Kamensky, President and CEO of Monticello/The Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
We talk about how Monticello strives to continually engage visitors with the complex history of enslavement, how Monticello honours Sally Hemings, how Monticello plans to celebrate America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and also we learn answers to burning questions like: is Monticello haunted?? And: can you get mac and cheese there?
Learn more about Monticello at monticello.org
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27 November 2025, 5:00 am - 1 hour 19 minutesRegency Era Cottagecore Lesbians: The Ladies of Llangollen
Click here to watch this episode as a video!
The Ladies of Llangollen, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, were Regency-era Irish women who ran off to Northern Wales to live their cottagecore lesbian domestic dream.
To discuss their adventurous youth and middle-aged Hobbit eras is superstar history podcaster and content creator Katie Charlwood from Who Did What Now!
Learn more about Katie and Who Did What Now!
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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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26 November 2025, 5:00 am - 44 minutes 33 secondsRegency Era Heiresses and the History of Enslavement
Regency Era heiresses are a part of most Jane Austen novels, as women with fortunes men want to marry into. Some of these fortunes were from old family money, but many of them were new wealth founded on human exploitation on Caribbean plantations.
Our guest, Dr. Miranda Kaufmann, reveals what she's found in her research about heiresses as well as the stories of the people the heiresses enslaved.
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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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19 November 2025, 5:00 am - 1 hour 33 minutesAnne Lister: Regency-Era Power Lesbian
Join our Patreon to enjoy this as a video episode!
Anne Lister was many things: secret sex diarist, land-owner, mountain climber, womanizer, power lesbian. How did she find a way to thrive during the patriarchal Regency Era, and what does her life story mean to today's queer community?
We're joined by returning guest Kit Heyam and new guest Sarah Wingrove to dish all about Anne Lister's wild life and legacy.
Learn more about Kit and their work at kitheyam.com
Learn more about Sarah and her work at sarahwingrove.com
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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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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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12 November 2025, 5:00 am - 56 minutes 29 secondsJane Austen: The Life of a Regency Era Literary Icon
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is one of England's best-loved and most-read authors. This year is the 250th anniversary of her birth in December 1775, and her works are as popular as they ever were. But her own story is far less known than that of her heroines. So we're here today to learn all about Jane Austen.
Our guest this week is Paula Byrne, one of the world's leading Jane Austen experts. Paula's new book, Six Weeks by the Sea, is a novel that imagines Jane Austen in love herself.
Buy a copy of Paula's new novel Six Weeks By The Sea (affiliate link).
Learn more about Paula at her website.
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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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5 November 2025, 5:00 am - 56 secondsVulgar History: Regency Era trailer
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2 November 2025, 5:57 pm - 1 hour 38 minutesMary Shelley Month: Lord Byron, The Original F***boi of Literature
Mary Shelley famously wrote Frankenstein while on a summer-long sleepover party with her husband, sister, and her husband's friend, Lord Byron.
To close out Mary Shelley Month, it's time for a deep dive on Lord Byron. Joining us is podcast legend Emily Edwards (from F***bois of Literature and Ticklish Business fame).
Learn more about Emily's work at msemilyedwards.com
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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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