

Vulgar History: Regency Era
Vulgar History | Realm
A feminist women's history comedy podcast. We look at history through a feminist lens, focusing on the women often removed from the narrative.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 11, 2026 • 2h 4min
The Brontë Sisters: Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Brontë
Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Brontë were all accomplished novelists. Charlotte's famous work is Jane Eyre, and Emily's is Wuthering Heights. But how did three sisters all become popular authors at the same time? Could it have been the cemetery water they grew up drinking??
Jane Eyre superfan Lana Wood Johnson joins us to discuss the tuberculosis-laden lives of these Northern English authors (with Irish accents).
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Order a copy of Ann's book, Rebel of the Regency!
Watch the Rebel of the Regency livestream on YouTube on February 13th!
Info on Ann's upcoming live events!
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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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Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
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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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 3, 2026 • 1h 20min
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (part two)
Last time, we discussed the first part of Georgiana's life. This time, we get into all the illegitimate children of it all, with bonus visits to Revolution-era Paris and also Earl Grey tea time. With special guest, royal commentator Amanda Matta (matta_of_fact on social media).
Watch this episode as a video.
Support the fundraiser for Minnesota
Georgiana, Anne Damer, and Elizabeth Lamb's witch portrait
Shop at Teapothecary Tea
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Preorder info for Ann's upcoming book, Rebel of the Regency!
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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
—
Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
—
Support Vulgar History on Patreon
—
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 28, 2026 • 1h 34min
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (part one)
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire is a key person connecting the French Revolution era to the Regency Era, because she was besties with Marie Antoinette, wore poufs, and then became besties with the Regent himself, George, Prince of Wales.
We're joined by Vulgar History returning guest Amanda Matta (matta_of_fact on social media) to talk about the first part of Georgiana's wild life.
Watch this episode as a video.
Here is a picture of Georgiana in her famous "picture hat".
—
Preorder info for Ann's upcoming book, Rebel of the Regency!
—
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
—
Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
—
Support Vulgar History on Patreon
—
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 21, 2026 • 1h 39min
A Regency Era Sapphic Schoolteacher Scandal
In the Regency Era, reputation was all many working-class women had. When Edinburgh schoolteachers Marianne Woods and Jane Pirie were accused of sapphic behaviour by their student Jane Cumming, they lost everything. So they decided to sue their accuser's wealthy grandmother for libel. The legal case, Pirie and Woods vs Cumming Gordon, only fanned the flames of the scandal.
This week, our guest Indigo Dunphy-Smith walks us through the racism, classism, and homophobia that turned these rumours into a well-known scandal.
Learn more about Indigo's work at A Queer Was Here
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Preorder info for Ann's upcoming book, Rebel of the Regency!
—
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
—
Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
—
Support Vulgar History on Patreon
—
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 14, 2026 • 1h 5min
Queen Marie-Louise Christophe: A Black Regency Era Queen
It's our Regency Era, which means we had to get Vanessa Riley (current Queen of Regency era fiction) on the podcast. This week we're revisiting out conversation from 2023 about her novel Queen of Exiles, about the life of Haiti's Queen Marie-Louise Christophe.
It's interesting to revisit this now, after discussing the Haitian Revolution last series, and seeing Marie-Louise in the context of the Regency Era in England.
Plus: bonus! Vanessa joined me again to record a new segment where we honour Marie-Louise with a score on the Scandiliciousness Scale!
Learn more about Queen of Exiles on Vanessa's website
Buy a copy of Queen of Exiles (affiliate link)
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Preorder info for Ann's upcoming book, Rebel of the Regency!
—
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
—
Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
—
Support Vulgar History on Patreon
—
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 7, 2026 • 43min
Jacquotte Delahaye: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean
The real Pirates of the Caribbean were Black, and women! And Jacquotte Delahaye was the most famous of them all.
Author Vanessa Riley's new novel, Fire Sword and Sea, is a sweeping, immersive saga based on the life of the legendary seventeenth-century pirate Jacquotte Delehaye. Vanessa joins us on the podcast to talk all about this lesser-known figure, and how she managed to research this story!
Learn more about Vanessa Riley and Fire Sword and Sea.
Buy Fire Sword and Sea (affiliate link)
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Preorder info for Ann's upcoming book, Rebel of the Regency!
—
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
—
Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
—
Support Vulgar History on Patreon
—
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 31, 2025 • 1h 23min
Regency Era Sex Ed: Round Two
Join Regency romance novelist Alexandra Vasti, a literature PhD exploring historical sexuality, as she dives into the steamy realities of the Regency Era. Discover her unique secret library concept designed for women’s sex education, packed with authentic texts that debunk myths about bridal ignorance. Alexandra challenges modern misconceptions about past sexual knowledge, highlights the significance of erotic literature, and explores the fascinating sapphic culture of the time. Delight in the intertwined history of love, learning, and scandal!

Dec 24, 2025 • 1h 53min
Hortense 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)
—
Preorder info for Ann's upcoming book, Rebel of the Regency!
—
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
—
Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
—
Support Vulgar History on Patreon
—
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 17, 2025 • 1h 56min
Rachel: 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)
—
Preorder info for Ann's upcoming book, Rebel of the Regency!
—
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
—
Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
—
Support Vulgar History on Patreon
—
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 10, 2025 • 1h 27min
Mary 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)
—
Preorder info for Ann's upcoming book, Rebel of the Regency!
—
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
—
Get Vulgar History merch at vulgarhistory.com/store (best for US shipping) and vulgarhistory.redbubble.com (better for international shipping)
—
Support Vulgar History on Patreon
—
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


