There’s not much good to come out of a plague, especially a bubonic plague in the 14th century. A pandemic which definitely didn't involve zoom quizzes and a video montage of celebrities singing 'Imagine' by John Lennon (actually, maybe they were better off in the 1300s).

But something extraordinary happened after The Black Death, which killed around half of the population in England. Because of a shortage of men, women had more autonomy and opportunities; from work and apprenticeships, to being able to rent land in their own name.

Kate is Betwixt the Sheets with Philippa Gregory to talk about how women's lives were impacted by the plague.

Philippa's new book: Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History, is out on the 26th October.

This podcast was edited by Tomos Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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