Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society24 Dec 2024

Sex Life & Scandal of Charles Dickens

Like it or not, there's no escaping Charles Dickens at this time of year.

But who was the man behind classics such as A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and of course, A Christmas Carol?

His life is as rich as many of the characters' stories in one of his books, including a brutal Victorian upbringing and rumours of sex and scandal.

Joining us in this re-run to explore the controversy of the man is Charles Dickens super-fan Miriam Margolyes - a national treasure in her own right.

Having written and starred in the play, Dickens Women, Miriam knows better than most the complicated relationships he had in his life: from his mother who took him out of school to work in a rat-infested blacking factory aged 12, to his wife whom he had a bookcase wall built to separate her from him.

This episode was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click here to place your vote! Thank you! https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(444)

Medieval Europe's Biggest Sex Scandal

This is the wild story of a 12th century French philosopher, Abelard, who fell in love with his student, Heloise.There are a lot of problematic issues going on. Not least their age gap, the resulting ...

31 Juli 41min

The Truth About Coco Chanel

You know her from the perfume, the little black dress, the double C bag clasp, but who was the woman, Coco Chanel? What even was her real name?From her origin story, through her inspirations and affai...

28 Juli 46min

Britain's Most Scandalous Queen

‘Who wants a girl with a personality?’ Historically, not the royals.Queen Caroline of Brunswick became Queen Consort of the United Kingdom in 1820, when her husband became King George IV. She was incr...

24 Juli 53min

Why Catherine Howard Lost Her Head

Poor Catherine Howard. She was smart, intelligent and undeniably beautiful, but ultimately no match for the vicious Henry VIII.She was certainly a victim but was she totally blameless?Joining Kate tod...

21 Juli 53min

The Truth About Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso's impact on the art world was sensational, but what impact did he have on the people around him?His relationship history contains some problematic moments, to say the least, so we are as...

17 Juli 46min

Sex Work in Soviet Russia

After the Russian Revolution in 1917, sex work was a prime example of what capitalism did to society. Under communism, sex work would no longer need to exist in society.Spoiler: it very much still exi...

14 Juli 41min

Why Helen Of Troy Is The Real Star Of 'The Odyssey'

Beautiful women are always causing trouble in history, and perhaps none more so than Helen of Troy.She's the daughter of Zeus and a human mother, after all.With the new film Odyssey hitting the big sc...

10 Juli 47min

The Most Badass Dragon Slayers in History

Picture a dragon and its dragon slayer. What do you imagine?It's likely going to be a giant, scaly, fire-breathing beast and a rugged knight with a massive sword. However, throughout history we have a...

7 Juli 48min