The Most Scandalous Author in 19th-Century France
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
History Hit
4.8 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2026
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
By the age of 30, George Sand's literary career was soaring. She was internationally renowned, outselling Victor Hugo in English. So why is she now better known for wearing mens clothes and having a relationship with Chopin?
In this episode, Kate is joined once again by Fiona Sampson to meet the woman behind the name. Who was Aurore Dupin? Why did she dress in men's clothes? And why have her literary achievements been overwritten in the history books by her personal life?
Fiona's book on this is 'Becoming George: The invention of George Sand'.
This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
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Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, my lovely Bitwixters, it's me, Kate Lister, welcome back to Bertwix the Sheets. Hello, it's so nice to see you again. But before I can let you go any further into this podcast, I have to tell you. This is an adult podcast spoken by adults to other adults about adulty things and an adulty way covering a range of all the subjects and used to being adult too. Are you fully briefed? Do you feel prepared? Right then, proceed at your own peril. |
| 0:27.1 | Ah, bonjour! It is a beautiful day here in the heart of France. It's the mid-1800s, |
| 0:32.8 | a light breeze plays among the leaves on the trees, and the birds are singing. |
| 0:41.0 | An idyll in a country wrought with revolutions. |
| 0:42.0 | Yep, plural. |
| 0:50.5 | We are at the famous Noan, a family estate turned gathering place for the literary and musical and artistic elite. |
| 0:51.4 | Ooh la la. |
| 0:54.4 | Here is our host, sitting astride, |
| 0:55.0 | a horse, |
| 0:56.6 | and wearing men's breeches. |
| 0:58.5 | This is George Sand. |
| 0:59.8 | And don't let the name or the posture or the attire fool you. |
| 1:01.9 | George is a literary icon, |
| 1:03.7 | a society leader, |
| 1:04.9 | a revolutionary, |
| 1:05.8 | and a woman. |
| 1:07.5 | Ready to find out more? |
| 1:08.6 | I know I am. |
| 1:37.4 | Thank you. A woman. Ready to find out more? I know I am. Hello and welcome back to Betwixt the Sheets, The History of Sex Scandal and Society with me, Kate Lister. |
| 1:46.1 | Imagine you wrote a book. No, no, no. Imagine you wrote lots of books. Actually, imagine you wrote over 70 books. You're probably feeling pretty good about yourself, thinking your legacy is complete. There is no doubt in your mind that |
| 1:51.4 | people will be remembering your work for centuries to come. Nothing could possibly overshadow your |
| 1:56.8 | artistic genius, except for maybe your clothes, how you dared to wear your trousers. Oh, |
... |
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