In this very special episode, Zachary Peatling had the opportunity to sit down with Hannah Greig, an eighteenth-century historian and TV/film historical consultant who’s worked on the likes of Poldark, Bridgerton and The Favourite, and has a wildly successful podcast of her own, the Historical Film Club with Alex von Tunzelmann.

Follow Hannah:

https://twitter.com/Hannah_Greig

https://twitter.com/HistoryFilmClub

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-beau-monde-9780198861188?lang=en&cc=gb

Follow Zachary:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacharypeatling

Website: https://www.presenthistory.co.uk

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In this episode, Zachary Peatling had the chance to sit down with Grace Beattie, a public historian and podcaster, to chat about her podcast, Wicked Women.

It also includes a very exciting announcement: Wicked Women: The Podcast is joining the Present History network!

They were adulterers, murderers, mistresses, religious zealots, thieves, and traitors. They were queens, wives, mothers, young, and old. What binds the women together in this podcast is their legacies. These are women who were known during their lifetimes or reinvented after their deaths as wicked women. The lenses of history are often gendered, damning women for some of the same actions that men have been lauded for. The nuances surrounding the women in this podcast were removed in exchange for a one-sided portrayal. Within Wicked Women: The Podcast, I do not attempt to excuse or condone the wrongs committed by these women, instead, the podcast looks at their overarching story and examines the origin of their negative legacy. Alongside a brief biographical overview of the woman, I will be incorporating interviews I have held with experts on the subject to provide multiple and diverse perspectives.

Check out Wicked Women:

https://open.spotify.com/show/2U2SOrNMs6hEVQYj31gEff?si=1082191cb2944e56

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzaB7mlO3sWTK3nRfAZGeINRIE5g_UhEB

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2022 was a tumultuous and potentially disastrous year for the institution of the Prime Minister. The trust in the position had been undermined, the ability of the structure of British government brought into question and the office made into a hollow shell of the power and authority it was meant to yield. 

In many ways, the sentiment towards the institution of the Prime Minister in 2022 was reminiscent of the feeling towards the office at its inception.

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When I first started this Present History Multimedia Project, one of the main things that I wanted to do, and something that was very high up on my list of priorities, was to speak to Amanda Hale. 

While writing my undergraduate dissertation about this topic, her book, Mad Hatter, had provided interesting insights into the character and personality of many of the members of the League of Christian Reformers. In particular, James Larratt Battersby, the so-called Mad Hatter, and Amanda’s father. 

And so, I shot her an email, intrigued as to what her response would be to me doing a whole multimedia project on the League of Christian Reformers, and especially wanting to do an episode specifically about her father. She responded quickly, and seemed interested in the project, and excited to talk about her book. I was elated. We soon organised a meeting, and, as we sat down to record, the sun was glaring through the blinds in my office, and snow was falling outside the windows of hers. She was in Canada, I was in England. And yet, what should have been an obstacle that made an interview like this impossible, is now hardly a barrier at all. 

We pressed record, and for the next hour or so, we discussed James Battersby, his life, career, beliefs and eventual end. We also discussed Amanda, her process in writing, balancing fact and fiction, her research into her father, and how this journey of discovery became more than just research for a book to her, but something that challenged and impacted her to the core. 

It was a fascinating conversation, and I can’t wait to you to hear it. So, sit back, get comfortable and enjoy my conversation with Amanda Hale, bestselling author and the daughter of James Larratt Battersby, the Mad Hatter. 

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

When I first started this Present History Multimedia Project, one of the main things that I wanted to do, and something that was very high up on my list of priorities, was to speak to Amanda Hale. 

While writing my undergraduate dissertation about this topic, her book, Mad Hatter, had provided interesting insights into the character and personality of many of the members of the League of Christian Reformers. In particular, James Larratt Battersby, the so-called Mad Hatter, and Amanda’s father. 

And so, I shot her an email, intrigued as to what her response would be to me doing a whole multimedia project on the League of Christian Reformers, and especially wanting to do an episode specifically about her father. She responded quickly, and seemed interested in the project, and excited to talk about her book. I was elated. We soon organised a meeting, and, as we sat down to record, the sun was glaring through the blinds in my office, and snow was falling outside the windows of hers. She was in Canada, I was in England. And yet, what should have been an obstacle that made an interview like this impossible, is now hardly a barrier at all. 

We pressed record, and for the next hour or so, we discussed James Battersby, his life, career, beliefs and eventual end. We also discussed Amanda, her process in writing, balancing fact and fiction, her research into her father, and how this journey of discovery became more than just research for a book to her, but something that challenged and impacted her to the core. 

It was a fascinating conversation, and I can’t wait to you to hear it. So, sit back, get comfortable and enjoy my conversation with Amanda Hale, bestselling author and the daughter of James Larratt Battersby, the Mad Hatter. 

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

The two black saloon cars had been there all morning. Not many had noticed them, tucked away in an off-road lane. And, if they had, they had not made a fuss. The people of River, however reluctantly, had become used to seeing strange people doing strange things in their serene village. Not too long ago, the peace of the farmland had been broken by the thunderous voice of a Pastor contending for his Christian faith. It had all started when new owners had arrived at River House. They had quickly renamed it Kingdom House. It was as if a shadow followed the new inhabitants; a dark cloud that washed over the village. Almost everyone in the village knew that these men and women were fascists, and that at least all of the men had been interred in a prison camp for most of the war. The villagers hadn’t accepted them with open arms. But they had been respectful. Then, the newspapers started to report that these people were trying to bring in a massive bust of Hitler’s head to the house. To their village. Their fathers, brothers, sons and friends had fought and died in a war trying to defeat the evil of Hitler and his regime. Now, they were expected to accept a bastion of this ideology, in their village? Not only this, these people, this League of Christian Reformers, were worshiping him. That’s why the Pastor had come, that’s why the atmosphere of the village had shifted. 

The government had done nothing. And said they wouldn’t do anything. Inaction had been tolerated long enough.

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