Author Interview: Jason Surrell and The Haunted Mansion

This two-parter from 2012 covers William Chester Minor, whose life was tumultuous. Medical school, mental health issues, and murder are all part of the story of this prolific contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 Heinä 202342min

Tracy and Holly discuss the high volume of work produced by both Webster and Worcester, the inconsistencies in Webster's work, and learning languages.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 Kesä 202317min

Noah Webster Jr. and Joseph Emerson Worcester were both born in New England, both went to Yale, and both compiled multiple dictionaries during their lifetimes. But they were very different men, and those differences led to a lot of conflict.  Research: "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310000221/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=28ed0fad. Accessed 13 June 2023. "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Oxford Reference. . . Date of access 13 Jun. 2023, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803124726182 Amherst College Library. “An Exhibit Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Noah Webster’s Birth October 16, 1758.” Archives and Special Collections Department. https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/exhibitions/webster Bartels, Paul S. "Webster, Noah." American Governance, edited by Stephen Schechter, et al., vol. 5, Macmillan Reference USA, 2016, pp. 291-293. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3629100736/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=3724fc61. Accessed 13 June 2023. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Joseph Emerson Worcester". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Emerson-Worcester. Accessed 13 June 2023. Cassedy, Tim. “’A Dictionary Which We Do Not Want’: Defining America against Noah Webster, 1783–1810.” The William and Mary Quarterly , Vol. 71, No. 2 (April 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5309/willmaryquar.71.2.0229 Cmiel, Kenneth. "Dictionaries." Dictionary of American History, edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed., vol. 3, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003, pp. 22-23. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401801214/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=b1842afb. Accessed 13 June 2023. Dobbs, Christopher. “Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language.” Connecticut History. 5/28/2021. https://connecticuthistory.org/noah-webster-and-the-dream-of-a-common-language/ Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part I." National Review, vol. 75, no. 2, 6 Feb. 2023, p. 50. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A734881576/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=705eb3a3. Accessed 13 June 2023. Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part II." National Review, vol. 75, no. 4, 6 Mar. 2023, p. 46. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A737639557/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=59f8ff8f. Accessed 13 June 2023. McDavid, Raven I.. "Noah Webster". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 May. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noah-Webster-American-lexicographer. Accessed 14 June 2023. McHugh, Jess. “The Nationalist Roots of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.” The Paris Review. 3/30/2018. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/03/30/noah-websters-american-english/ Merriam-Webster. “Noah Webster and America's First Dictionary.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/about-us/americas-first-dictionary Micklethwait, David. “Ghost-hunting?: The Search for Henry Bohn's First Worcester Dictionary.” Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America, Volume 38, Issue 1, 2017, pp. 47-66. https://doi.org/10.1353/dic.2017.0001 Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society. “Noah Webster History.” https://noahwebsterhouse.org/noahwebsterhistory/ Skinner, David. “Noah Webster, Chronicler of Disease.” HUMANITIES, Spring 2021, Volume 42, Number 2. https://www.neh.gov/article/noah-webster-chronicler-disease Yazawa, Melvin. “Webster, Noah.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/68670 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Kesä 202343min

The conflict between Noah Webster and Joseph Emerson Worcester, and their dictionaries came to be known as the Dictionary Wars. To set the scene, part one covers the biographies of the two men. Research: "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310000221/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=28ed0fad. Accessed 13 June 2023. "Joseph Emerson Worcester." Oxford Reference. . . Date of access 13 Jun. 2023, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803124726182 Amherst College Library. “An Exhibit Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Noah Webster’s Birth October 16, 1758.” Archives and Special Collections Department. https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/exhibitions/webster Bartels, Paul S. "Webster, Noah." American Governance, edited by Stephen Schechter, et al., vol. 5, Macmillan Reference USA, 2016, pp. 291-293. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3629100736/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=3724fc61. Accessed 13 June 2023. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Joseph Emerson Worcester". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Emerson-Worcester. Accessed 13 June 2023. Cassedy, Tim. “’A Dictionary Which We Do Not Want’: Defining America against Noah Webster, 1783–1810.” The William and Mary Quarterly , Vol. 71, No. 2 (April 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5309/willmaryquar.71.2.0229 Cmiel, Kenneth. "Dictionaries." Dictionary of American History, edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed., vol. 3, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003, pp. 22-23. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401801214/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=b1842afb. Accessed 13 June 2023. Dobbs, Christopher. “Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language.” Connecticut History. 5/28/2021. https://connecticuthistory.org/noah-webster-and-the-dream-of-a-common-language/ Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part I." National Review, vol. 75, no. 2, 6 Feb. 2023, p. 50. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A734881576/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=705eb3a3. Accessed 13 June 2023. Garner, Bryan A. "Under an Orthographic Spell: Part II." National Review, vol. 75, no. 4, 6 Mar. 2023, p. 46. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A737639557/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=59f8ff8f. Accessed 13 June 2023. McDavid, Raven I.. "Noah Webster". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 May. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noah-Webster-American-lexicographer. Accessed 14 June 2023. McHugh, Jess. “The Nationalist Roots of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.” The Paris Review. 3/30/2018. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/03/30/noah-websters-american-english/ Merriam-Webster. “Noah Webster and America's First Dictionary.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/about-us/americas-first-dictionary Micklethwait, David. “Ghost-hunting?: The Search for Henry Bohn's First Worcester Dictionary.” Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America, Volume 38, Issue 1, 2017, pp. 47-66. https://doi.org/10.1353/dic.2017.0001 Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society. “Noah Webster History.” https://noahwebsterhouse.org/noahwebsterhistory/ Skinner, David. “Noah Webster, Chronicler of Disease.” HUMANITIES, Spring 2021, Volume 42, Number 2. https://www.neh.gov/article/noah-webster-chronicler-disease Yazawa, Melvin. “Webster, Noah.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/68670 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Kesä 202342min

This 2018 episode features Julian Eltinge, one of the highest-paid and most famous actors of the early 20th century. He acted alongside Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Rudolph Valentino, and became. famous as a female impersonator.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

24 Kesä 202336min

Holly and Tracy talk about Barbette's identity and speculation about his life. They also share stories of square dancing in school as kids. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23 Kesä 202326min

Square dancing has very old roots and has endured as a pastime to present day. Its history, though, comes with some thorns, and scholars don’t even agree on its exact origin.  Research:         Anderson, Virginia C. “It All Began Anew: The Revival of Folk Dancing.” Western Folklore , Apr., 1948, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr., 1948). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1497379         Blakemore, Erin. “The Slave Roots of Square Dancing.” JSTOR Daily. 6/16/2017. https://daily.jstor.org/the-slave-roots-of-square-dancing/         Burger, Hans, complier. “History and Heritage of Modern American Square Dancing.” Phantom Promenaders Munich. European Association of American Square Dance. Via archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20040409113940/http://eaasdc.de/history/shehisto.pdf         Dallal, Jenine Abboushi. "French Cultural Imperialism and the Aesthetics of Extinction." The Yale Journal of Criticism, vol. 13 no. 2, 2000, p. 229-265. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/yale.2000.0016.         Damon, S. Foster. “History of Square Dancing.” Barre, Mass. 1957.         Gifford, Paul M. “Henry Ford’s Dance Revival and Fiddle Contests: Myth and Reality.” Journal of the Society for American Music (2010) Volume 4, Number 3, pp. 307–338.         Hunt, Tracie. “Birdie in the Cage.” Produced by Annie McEwen, Tracie Hunte, and Matt Kielty. Radiolab. 10/23/2019. https://radiolab.org/podcast/birdie-cage         Jamison, Philip A. “Square Dance Calling: The African-American Connection.” Journal of Appalachian Studies , Fall 2003, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Fall 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41446577         Lovett, Benjamin B. and Henry Ford. “’Good Morning’: After a Sleep of Twenty-five Years, Old-fashioned Dancing is Being Revived by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford.” Dearborn Publishing Company. January 1926.         Mangin, Julianne. “The State Folk Dance Conspiracy: Fabricating a National Folk Dance.” Originally published in the Old-Time Herald, v.4(7) p.9-12, Spring 1995. http://juliannemangin.com/the-state-folk-dance-conspiracy/         MasterClass. “All About Square Dance: A Brief History of Square Dance.” https://www.masterclass.com/articles/square-dance-explained         Miller, Rebecca S. "Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean." American Music, vol. 28, no. 4, winter 2010, pp. 501+. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A401215265/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=5ce2f07f. Accessed 1 June 2023.         Nelson, Kevin. "Square Dancing." Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America, edited by Gary S. Cross, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004, pp. 305-307. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3434800241/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=eed3a8c4. Accessed 1 June 2023.         Optimist Daily. “The history of square dancing in America—part I of True American.” 8/12/2022. https://www.optimistdaily.com/2022/08/the-history-of-square-dancing-in-america-part-i-of-true-american/         Optimist Daily. “The square dancers of today—part II of True American, a mini-series.” 8/19/2022. https://www.optimistdaily.com/2022/08/the-square-dancers-of-today-part-ii-of-true-american-a-mini-series/         Quigley, Colin. “Reflections on the Hearing to "Designate the Square Dance as the American Folk Dance of the United States": Cultural Politics and an American Vernacular Dance Form.” Yearbook for Traditional Music , 2001, Vol. 33 (2001). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1519639         Sabatella, Matthew. “Southern Appalachian Square Dance: A Brief History.” Ballad of America. https://balladofamerica.org/southern-square-dance/         Szwed, John F. and Morton Marks. “The Afro-American Transformation of European Set Dances and Dance Suites.” Dance Research Journal , Summer, 1988, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Summer, 1988). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1478814         U.S. House of Representatives. “Can I have This Dance?” Whereas: Stories from the People’s House. 4/29/2020. https://history.house.gov/Blog/2020/April/4-29-squaredance/         Warnock, Emery C. “The Anti-Semitic Origins of Henry Ford's Arts Education Patronage.” Journal of Historical Research in Music Education , Apr., 2009, Vol. 30, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40215355  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 Kesä 202341min

Vander Clyde Broadway went by a few different names in his life, but Barbette is the one he got famous with. He was a female impersonator from Texas who became the toast of Paris in the 1920s. Research:         Ninesling, Rosie. “Meet Barbette, Round Rock’s Cross-Dressing Performer From the 1920s.” Austin Monthly. December 2021. https://www.austinmonthly.com/meet-barbette-round-rocks-cross-dressing-performer-from-the-1920s/         Kendall Curlee, “Broadway, Vander Clyde [Barbette],” Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/broadway-vander-clyde-barbette         Steegmuller, Francis. “An Angel, a Flower, a Bird.”  The New Yorker. Sept. 27, 1969. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1969/09/27/an-angel-a-flower-a-bird         Pryor, Thomas M. “Hollywood Arena: ‘Big Circus’ Troupe Works to Equal Big Top’s Authenticity and Color.” New York Times. January 11, 1959. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/01/11/83434437.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0         Gils, Bieke. “Flying, Flirting, and Flexing: Charmion’s Trapeze Act, Sexuality, and Physical Culture at the Turn of the Twentieth Century.” Journal of Sport History, vol. 41, no. 2, 2014, pp. 251–68. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jsporthistory.41.2.251         Dimock, Chase. “ “THE SURREAL SEX OF BEAUTY: JEAN COCTEAU AND MAN RAY’S ‘LE NUMÉRO BARBETTE.’” As It Ought to Be. June 2, 2011. https://asitoughttobemagazine.com/2011/06/02/the-surreal-sex-of-beauty-jean-cocteau-and-man-rays-le-numero-barbette/         “Barbette in Amazing Feats at the Palace.” New York Times. Feb. 8, 1927. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/02/08/110039993.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0         Gallico, Paul. “Thinking Aloud: give a Cheer for an Artist.” The San Francisco Examiner. April 28, 1948. https://www.newspapers.com/image/458500827/?terms=vander%20barbette&match=1         Cole Brothers Circus Is Rehearsing in Louisville This Year for the Last Time.” The Courier-Journal. April 10, 1949. https://www.newspapers.com/image/110868149/?terms=vander%20barbette&match=1         “150 From Circus Recover After Food Poisoning.” Evening Star. June 19, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/image/868025427/?terms=vander%20barbette&match=1         “New  Cole Brothers Circus Puts Emphasis on Beauty.” Globe-Gazette. July 8, 1949. https://www.newspapers.com/image/724153/?terms=vander%20barbette&match=1         Atkinson, J. Brooks. “Songs, Dances and Costumes.” New York Times. Feb, 13, 1927. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/02/13/98532388.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0         “From Round Rock to the Moulin Rouge: The Story of Barbette.” Round Rock ISD. https://history.roundrockisd.org/from-round-rock-to-the-moulin-rouge-the-story-of-barbette/         “Vander Barbette Is Dead at 68; Trapeze Artist in the Twenties.” New York Times. Aug. 10, 1973. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/08/10/148684612.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0         Estrada, John-Carlos. “#TBT: From Round Rock to the Moulin Rouge, meet aerialist and drag performer Barbette.” CBS Austin. Aug. 19, 2022. https://cbsaustin.com/newsletter-daily/tbt-from-round-rock-to-the-moulin-rouge-meet-aerialist-and-drag-performer-barbette-vander-clyde-broadway-female-impersonator-french-poet-jean-cocteau-paris-alfaretta-sisters-world-famous-aerial-queens-1969-new-yorker-article-strange-beauty-wire-walker See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Kesä 202339min