Little Sleights

In 1914 a Canadian ocean liner sunk to the bed of the St Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, taking over 1000 souls with her. It became the worst maritime disaster during peacetime in Canadian history. But before the tragedy, that ship was the RMS Empress of Ireland, the ship that helped realize the dreams of a growing Canadian company and thousands of immigrants.

One of the original child stars and, eventually, the highest paid actress of her day, she took the Wild West by storm in the late 1800s and forever left her mark on San Francisco and the American stages.

But before all that, she was Lotta Crabtree.

Slave turned spy, Virginian James Armistead help change the tide of the summer of 1781 and the Battle of Yorktown as he snuck secrets out of Charles Cornwallis' camp and into the hands of the Marquis de Lafayette. But once he'd help win the war, could he also win his freedom?

Last time on the Three and a Half Wives..., we talked about Cossutia and Cornelia, Caesar's first two wives. This week, we examine Pompeia and Calpurnia, the scandal and the dream, and the end of an era.

They say behind every great man is a great woman, but who were these women who stood behind one of the most famous figures in history - Julius Caesar. Join me in Little Sleights as we do a deep dive into the lives of Cossutia, Cornelia, Pompeia, and Calpurnia - the three and a half wives of Rome's first dictator for life.

Wife and mother of usurpers, two time Tsaritsa, destruction of a dynasty - she was a Polish-born noblewoman whose life became embroiled in the Russian Time of Troubles. Her actions sent ripples across two nations, raising two kings and dooming hundreds elsewhere, until her death in 1614.

But before all that, she was Marina Mniszech.

In Part 2 of this series, we look at Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier who kept fighting World War II - 29 years after Japan's surrender. His beginning, his fight, and what came after - who he was in a Japan that had moved on.

There are some people that might have enjoyed their little obscurities, to quietly continue on with their lives and their duties unnoticed, never to be reminded of the larger scope of humanity. In this short series I have two such tales for you. The first: the story of a woman who was violently ripped away from one family and eventually found a peaceful existence with another, only to have the cycle start again when violence found her once more. She was Narua, wife of a Comanche war chieftain, daughter of a Texas Ranger.

But before all that, she was Cynthia Ann Parker.

Born an African princess, she lived the majority of her life as slave, then slaveowner after she was sold as a child. As she grew to hold the confidence and admiration of the man she would call both Master and Husband, she earned her freedom and land of her own. Navigating the turbulent times of early 1800s Spanish Florida, she saw her life burn to the ground multiple times - once, she held the match herself. The name given to her was Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley.

But before all that, she was Anta Majigeen Ndiaye.

 Madame Tussaud’s is a household name, the famed wax museum that boasts a wide collection of celebrities and famous figures from history both recent and far-flung. But not many know the story of one woman’s lifelong labor in the field of waxworks. From humble beginnings in France, to surviving a revolution, to wandering Europe, the real Madame Tussaud became the preeminent wax creator of her time.

But before all that, she was Anna Maria Grosholtz.