William Firth Wells and Mildred Weeks Wells

Wilfred Owen is considered one of the most important English-language poets of World War I. His work also part of a shift in how many British poets were writing about war. Research: Bonellie, Janet. “A Portrait of Robert Ross.” Canada’s History. 6/12/2019. https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/arts-culture-society/a-portrait-of-robert-ross British Broadcasting Corporation. “Wilfred Owen: A Remembrance Tale.” 2007. Cannon, Jean. “Censorship in Surprising Places: Uncovering the Letters of Wilfred Owen.” Not Even Past. Ransom Center. 4/21/2014. https://notevenpast.org/censorship/ Crossman, AM. “THE HYDRA, Captain AJ Brock and the Treatment of Shell-shocked in Edinburgh.” J R Coll Physicians Edinb 2003; 33:119–123. Earlam, R. “Shell-shock: A history of the changing attitude to war neurosis.” BMJ (Clinical research ed.) vol. 316,7145 (1998): 1683A. doi:10.1136/bmj.316.7145.1683a Hibberd, Dominic. “Wilfred Owen.” Weidenfeld & Nicholson. 2002. Imperial War Museums. “British Field Service Postcard, First World War.” https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205131476 Jones, Edgar. “Shell Shocked.” American Psychological Association. Vol. 43, No. 6. June 2012. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/06/shell-shocked Jones, Nigel. "Anthem for groomed youth: Wilfred Owen's troubling obsession." Spectator, vol. 336, no. 9880, 6 Jan. 2018, p. 12. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A524739265/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=62e62ece. Accessed 11 June 2025. Lee, Stuart. “The Last Days of Wilfred Owen.” Oxford News Blog. 10/23/2018. https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/arts-blog/last-days-wilfred-owen Onion, Amanda. “Poet Wilfred Owen killed in action.” History.com. 1/30/2025. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4/poet-wilfred-owen-killed-in-action Poetry Foundation. “Wilfred Owen.” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/wilfred-owen Stallworthy, Jon. "Owen, Wilfred Edward Salter (1893–1918), poet." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 01, 2017. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Jun. 2025, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-37828 Van Mierlo, Wim. “Wilfred Owen 100 years on: poet gave voice to a generation of doomed youth.” The Conversation. 11/4/2018. https://theconversation.com/wilfred-owen-100-years-on-poet-gave-voice-to-a-generation-of-doomed-youth-106014 Webb, Thomas E F. “'Dottyville'--Craiglockhart War Hospital and shell-shock treatment in the First World War.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine vol. 99,7 (2006): 342-6. doi:10.1177/014107680609900716 "Wilfred Owen." Poetry Criticism, edited by Michelle Lee, vol. 102, Gale, 2010. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CYPYNF967921623/LitRC?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=cb1d6e7f. Accessed 27 May 2025. "Wilfred Owen." World War I Reference Library, edited by Sara Pendergast, et al., vol. 2: Biographies, UXL, 2002, pp. 111-117. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3411700047/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=c3bea6b3. Accessed 27 May 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2 Juli 44min

The Beauchamp-Sharpe tragedy of 1825, sometimes called the Kentucky tragedy, involves a politician, a young lawyer, and the lawyer’s wife. It unfolds as a story of sexual scandal and political intrigue that ultimately led to murder. Research: Beauchamp, Jereboam O. “The confession of Jereboam Beauchamp (written by himself) who was executed at Frankfort, Ky., for the murder of Col. Solomon P. Sharp, a member of the legislature, and late attorney-general of Ky. To which is added some poetical pieces written by Mrs. Ann Beauchamp, who voluntarily put a period to her existence on the day of the execution of her husband, and was buried in the same grave with him.” H.T. Goodsell. Kentucky. https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/sat1109 “Beauchamp’s Trial.” The Frankfort Argus. May 10, 1826. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1040984938/?match=1&terms=beauchamp Bruce, Dickson D. “The Kentucky Tragedy: A Story of Conflict and Change in Antebellum America.” Louisiana State University Press. 2006. Coleman, J. Winston, Jr. “THE BEAUCHAMP - SHARP TRAGEDY: An Episode of Kentucky History During the Middle 1820's.” ROBERTS PRINTING COMPANY. Frankfurt, KY. 1950. Accessed online: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.32000013353117&seq=9&format=plaintext Coleman, J. Winston. “The Beauchamp-Sharp tragedy; an episode of Kentucky history during the middle 1820's.” ROBERTS PRINTING COMPANY. FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY. 1950. Accessed online: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.32000013353117&seq=9 Cooke, J.W. “THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL SOLOMON P. SHARP PART 1: UPRIGHTNESS AND INVENTIONS; SNARES AND NETS.” The Filson Club History Quarterly. Vol. 72, No. 1. January 1998. https://filsonhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/publicationpdfs/72-1-3_The-Life-and-Death-of-Colonel-Solomon-P.-Sharp-part-1-Uprightness-and-Inventions-Snares-and-Net_Cooke-J.W..pdf “Horrible Assassination.” The Frankfort Argus. Nov. 9. 1825. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1044971148/?match=1&terms=solomon%20sharp Jillson, Willard Rouse. “THE BEAUCHAMP—SHARP TRAGEDY IN AMERICAN LITERATURE.” Register of Kentucky State Historical Society, vol. 36, no. 114, 1938, pp. 54–60. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23371707 Kimball, William J. “The ‘Kentucky Tragedy:’ Romance or Politics.” The Filson Club History Quarterly. Vol. 48. 1974. https://filsonhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/publicationpdfs/48-1-3_The-Kentucky-Tragedy-Romance-of-Politics_Kimball-William-J..pdf “The Murderer od Col. Sharp.” Republican Banner. Nov. 28, 1825. https://www.newspapers.com/image/603858007/?match=1&terms=Jereboam%200.%20Beauchamp “The Mutilated Act.” Lexington Weekly Press. June 20, 1825. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1183393429/?match=1&terms=Jereboam%200.%20Beauchamp “Romantic 1825 Tragedy.” Kentucky Historical Society. https://history.ky.gov/markers/romantic-1825-tragedy Schoenbachler, Matthew G. “Murder and Madness: The Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy.” University Press of Kentucky. 2009. Gates, W. B. “William Gilmore Simms and the Kentucky Tragedy.” American Literature, vol. 32, no. 2, 1960, pp. 158–66. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2922674 “To the Public.” Woodstock Observer and Windsor and Orange County Gazette. Aug, 29, 1826. https://www.newspapers.com/image/489194545/?match=1&terms=Jereboam%200.%20Beauchamp See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 Juni 36min

This 2014 episode covers transgender activist Sylvia Rivera. She became famous, in part, for participating in the Stonewall riots, and she spent her life campaigning bravely, stridently and vocally for the rights of gay and transgender people.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Juni 28min

Rosina Bulwer-Lytton week generates discussion of her relationship with Edward, including many people who sided with him over the years despite allegations of abuse and infidelity. Tracy and Holly also discuss the couple’s daughter’s death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

27 Juni 18min

Once Rosina Bulwer-Lytton and her husband Edward separated, his life seemed to become more and more successful while she struggled with finances. The estranged couple then spent years battling very publicly until Edward had Rosina committed. Research: “A Scene at the Hertfordshire Election.” The Tiverton Gazette. 6/29/1858. https://www.newspapers.com/image/803824054/ Blain, Virginia. “Rosina Bulwer Lytton and the Rage of the Unheard.” Huntington Library Quarterly , Summer, 1990, Vol. 53, No. 3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3817439 Brown, Andrew. "Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer [formerly Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer], first Baron Lytton (1803–1873), writer and politician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 4 Jun. 2025, https://www-oxforddnb-com.proxy.bostonathenaeum.org/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-17314 Bulwer-Lytton, Rosina. “Lady Bulwer Lytton's Appeal to the Justice and Charity of the English Public.” By and For the Author. 1857. Devey, Louisa, editor. “Letters of the late Edward Bulwer, lord Lytton, to his wife.” New York : G. W. Dillingham. 1889. Devey, Louisa. “Life of Rosina, Lady Lytton: With Numerous Extracts from Her Ms. Autobiography and Other Original Documents.” London, Swan Sonnschein, Lowery & Co. 1887. Flynn, Michael J. “Dickens, Rosina Bulwer Lytton, and the ‘Guilt’ of Literature and Art.” Dickens Quarterly, March 2012, Vol. 29, No. 1 (March 2012). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45292582 King, Cornelia. “Getting Even: The Mighty Pen of Lady Bulwer Lytton.” The Library Company of Philadelphia. 5/10/2022. https://librarycompany.org/2022/05/10/getting-even/ Latané, D.E. “Edward Bulwer Lytton’s committal of his wife Rosina to a private mental asylum in 1858.” Victorian Web. https://victorianweb.org/authors/bulwer/latane.html McFadden, Margaret. “Anna Doyle Wheeler (1785-1848): Philosopher, Socialist, Feminist.” Hypatia, vol. 4, no. 1, 1989, pp. 91–101. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3809936. Accessed 3 June 2025. Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. "Fame, notoriety and madness: Edward Bulwer-Lytton paying the price of greatness." Critical Survey, vol. 13, no. 2, May 2001, pp. 115+. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A80191856/LitRC?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=2669a158. Accessed 27 May 2025. Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. "Lytton, Rosina Anne Doyle Bulwer [née Rosina Anne Doyle Wheeler], Lady Lytton (1802–1882), novelist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 08, 2009. Oxford University Press. Date of access 28 May. 2025, https://www-oxforddnb-com.proxy.bostonathenaeum.org/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-17316 Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. “‘The Very Worst Woman I Ever Heard of’: Rosina Bulwer Lytton and Biography as Vindication.” Women's Writing, 25:2, 253-267, DOI: 10.1080/09699082.2017.1387338 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25 Juni 41min

After a difficult childhood, Rosina Bulwer-Lytton landed in a marriage that quickly turned chaotic and stressful, and then became abusive. Part one covers the period of her life up to their separation. Research: “A Scene at the Hertfordshire Election.” The Tiverton Gazette. 6/29/1858. https://www.newspapers.com/image/803824054/ Blain, Virginia. “Rosina Bulwer Lytton and the Rage of the Unheard.” Huntington Library Quarterly , Summer, 1990, Vol. 53, No. 3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3817439 Brown, Andrew. "Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer [formerly Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer], first Baron Lytton (1803–1873), writer and politician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 4 Jun. 2025, https://www-oxforddnb-com.proxy.bostonathenaeum.org/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-17314 Bulwer-Lytton, Rosina. “Lady Bulwer Lytton's Appeal to the Justice and Charity of the English Public.” By and For the Author. 1857. Devey, Louisa, editor. “Letters of the late Edward Bulwer, lord Lytton, to his wife.” New York : G. W. Dillingham. 1889. Devey, Louisa. “Life of Rosina, Lady Lytton: With Numerous Extracts from Her Ms. Autobiography and Other Original Documents.” London, Swan Sonnschein, Lowery & Co. 1887. Flynn, Michael J. “Dickens, Rosina Bulwer Lytton, and the ‘Guilt’ of Literature and Art.” Dickens Quarterly, March 2012, Vol. 29, No. 1 (March 2012). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45292582 King, Cornelia. “Getting Even: The Mighty Pen of Lady Bulwer Lytton.” The Library Company of Philadelphia. 5/10/2022. https://librarycompany.org/2022/05/10/getting-even/ Latané, D.E. “Edward Bulwer Lytton’s committal of his wife Rosina to a private mental asylum in 1858.” Victorian Web. https://victorianweb.org/authors/bulwer/latane.html McFadden, Margaret. “Anna Doyle Wheeler (1785-1848): Philosopher, Socialist, Feminist.” Hypatia, vol. 4, no. 1, 1989, pp. 91–101. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3809936. Accessed 3 June 2025. Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. "Fame, notoriety and madness: Edward Bulwer-Lytton paying the price of greatness." Critical Survey, vol. 13, no. 2, May 2001, pp. 115+. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A80191856/LitRC?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=2669a158. Accessed 27 May 2025. Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. "Lytton, Rosina Anne Doyle Bulwer [née Rosina Anne Doyle Wheeler], Lady Lytton (1802–1882), novelist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 08, 2009. Oxford University Press. Date of access 28 May. 2025, https://www-oxforddnb-com.proxy.bostonathenaeum.org/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-17316 Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. “‘The Very Worst Woman I Ever Heard of’: Rosina Bulwer Lytton and Biography as Vindication.” Women's Writing, 25:2, 253-267, DOI: 10.1080/09699082.2017.1387338 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23 Juni 36min

This 2017 episode covers Theodosia Burr Alston, Aaron Burr's incredibly smart and well educated daughter. She vanished without a trace as an adult, and her ultimate fate is still a matter of debate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 Juni 34min

Tracy and Holly share experiences of having their hearts monitored using EKG technology. They also talk about whether or not Albert Bierstadt had any natural talent. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Juni 28min