Nell Gwyn: Celebrity Mistress of King Charles II

Nell Gwyn: Celebrity Mistress of King Charles II

How did a working class illiterate woman become King Charles II's favourite mistress?


Nell Gwyn was an incredibly talented comedy actor who came from a working class background, and was part of a group of pioneering women who were the first allowed to take to the stage to play women's roles.


Her personality was huge, audiences loved her ability to swear, and she was described as "the wildest creature to ever be seen at court." No wonder Charles loved her!


What was the wild world of 17th century Restoration Theatre like? How did she change comedy acting? What did the general public think of her?


Joining Kate to take us back to this world is Dr. David Taylor, Associate Professor of English at Oxford University.


You can also watch both Kate and David in the History Hit documentary, Sex and Scandal: Royal Favourites, for more about Nell's extraordinary life.


This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.


If you'd like to get in touch with the show you can contact us at betwixt@historyhit.com.


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.


All music from Epidemic Sounds.


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

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

Avsnitt(404)

King Arthur's Sex Life

King Arthur's Sex Life

The words "the man, the myth, the legend" can easily apply to King Arthur.Today we're looking past the round table, the sword in the stone, and his magician mate Merlin to explore what his love life c...

19 Dec 202347min

17th Century Sci-Fi Writer & 'It Girl': Margaret Cavendish

17th Century Sci-Fi Writer & 'It Girl': Margaret Cavendish

Margaret Cavendish was extraordinary for any time, let alone the 17th century.She was a trailblazer in fiction, writing and publishing what many believe to be the first science fiction book - her 1666...

15 Dec 202342min

JFK Special 5. | The Kennedy Curse

JFK Special 5. | The Kennedy Curse

What was it about the Kennedy's that attracted so much tragedy, that many believed them to be cursed?From plane disasters in World War 2, to drug overdoses and of course, assassinations - it has to be...

11 Dec 202344min

The Invention of Heterosexuality

The Invention of Heterosexuality

Sexuality is a funny thing. It's a social construct just as much as, say, virginity is.We use words like heterosexuality and homosexuality because they are convenient, more than because they're wholly...

8 Dec 202340min

JFK Special 4. | How Jackie O Defined An Era

JFK Special 4. | How Jackie O Defined An Era

If the Kennedy's were America's first royal family, then Jackie was its queen.She was a style icon who, alongside her husband and president JFK, symbolised a fresh hopeful start in post-war America.An...

4 Dec 202334min

AIDS Epidemic: Life & Death On The Frontline

AIDS Epidemic: Life & Death On The Frontline

How do we understand something as huge as a global epidemic?Similarly to Covid, the AIDS epidemic, which was most destructive in the 1980s and 90s, had such universal reach. Yet within that, there wer...

1 Dec 202359min

JFK Special 3. | The Sex Life of JFK

JFK Special 3. | The Sex Life of JFK

“If I don’t have a woman for three days, I get terrible headaches.”That is what JFK allegedly told the UK prime minister, Harold MacMillan, after a meeting on nuclear arms. An interesting alternative ...

28 Nov 202340min

Section 28: The Anti-Gay Law That Sparked A Movement

Section 28: The Anti-Gay Law That Sparked A Movement

The 1980s have a lot to answer for - spandex, for one.It also saw the first new anti-gay law in Britain for over a century.Against the backdrop of the HIV epidemic, and increasing homophobia across th...

24 Nov 202338min

Populärt inom Historia

kod-katastrof
massmordarpodden
motiv
historiska-brott
p3-historia
olosta-mord
rss-historien-om
historiepodden-se
rss-seriemordarpodden
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
rss-brottsligt
rss-massmordarpodden
krigshistoriepodden
rss-historiska-brottslingar
militarhistoriepodden
palmemordet
rss-arkiv-stieg
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
nu-blir-det-historia
oppet-fall