30. Difficult Women

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

BBC

Personal Journals, True Crime, History, Society & Culture

4.7 • 908 Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2024

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Lucy Worsley and Rosalind Crone are joined by Helen Lewis, author of ‘Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights.’ They discuss what it means to be a difficult woman and why the airbrushing of feminist history can be problematic.

Together they discuss four of the most difficult women across the Lady Killers series; Mary Surratt, Alice Mitchell, Mary Ann Brough and Maria Manning. Each one commits wild and unspeakable crimes. They are anti-heroines; breaking taboos around sexuality, motherhood and sexual relationships. Lucy, Ros and Helen explore the value of understanding the diversity of women's lives in the past, and how this enables us to get a little bit closer to understanding ourselves.

Produced in partnership with the Open University.

Producer: Emily Hughes. Sound design: Chris Maclean Series Producer: Julia Hayball.

A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

New episodes will be released on Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. But if you’re in the UK, listen to the latest full series of Lady Killers first on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds - Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley - Available Episodes: http://bbc.in/3M2pT0K

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy.
0:05.0	My name's Will Wilkin and I Commission Music Podcast for the BBC.
0:08.0	It's a really cool job, but every day we get to tell the incredible stories behind songs, moments and movements,
0:14.7	stories of struggle and success, rises and falls, the funny, the ridiculous.
0:19.1	And the BBC's position at the heart of British music means we can tell those stories like no one else.
0:24.6	We were, are and always will be right there at the center of the narrative.
0:28.6	So whether you want an insightful take on music right now or a nostalgic deep dive into some of the most famous
0:34.9	and infamous moments in music check out the music podcasts on BBC Sounds.
0:38.6	BBC Sounds music radio podcasts.
0:44.0	Welcome to Lady Killers with me Lucy Worsley from BBC Radio 4.
0:53.0	Join me and an all-female team of detectives as we travel back in time to revisit the unthinkable
1:05.4	crimes of some of the most notorious murder vases of the 19th and 20th centuries from the UK,
1:12.1	the USA and Australia. and
1:13.4	Australia. In this final episode of Series 3 we've picked out for you four of the most difficult
1:20.8	and contradictory murder-resses of the series now let's be clear difficult and whose behavior clashes with the social norms and expectations at the time.
1:35.2	But of course what makes these women truly different from you are I is that they have
1:39.6	a very dark side indeed. This episode contains material that some listeners may find distressing.
1:48.0	He left me with no money and was going to take the children away from me.
1:52.0	I was not going to allow him to do so.
1:54.3	If I wish to take anybody's life, why should I not take that of my husband who is the
2:00.2	greatest enemy to me in the world.
2:03.0	I won't let you break the engagement.
	...

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