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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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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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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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.

—

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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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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