The Dead Ladies Show

In this episode, DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire introduces us to a woman from the past who probably would have been overlooked if she hadn’t documented her life in such a painstaking fashion — on request. As a domestic servant in Victorian England, Hannah Cullwick should have led a rather ordinary existence for her time. But her involvement in a very unconventional relationship means that we know quite a lot about her work and life, and much, much more. 

Presenter Katy Derbyshire is not just our co-founder, she’s also a notable translator, publisher, and book enthusiast. Katy’s imprint, V&Q Books, has a brand new book out that she compiled and edited. It’s called Berlin Babel, and it’s a collection of short stories about the city from a rich array of international voices. Do check it out at this link if you like!

Show notes:

To find out more, read the diaries or Diane Atkinson’s Love & Dirt.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire. The podcast is created, produced and edited by Susan Stone.

Our theme tune is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon. We will be back again next month with another fabulous Dead Lady.

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/

In this episode, DLSP host Susan Stone brings us the story of Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, famous for inventing the Frankfurt Kitchen, which modernized one of the most important rooms in the home. Driven by her aesthetic mission and her politics, Schütte-Lihotzky designed humanitarian housing, kindergartens, schools, and more during her over 100 years of life, which included stints in the Soviet Union and a Gestapo prison.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire is on hand to help with the introducing duties. 

Show notes:

…and some of Grete’s designs for children’s furniture

Check out the Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky Center in Vienna here: https://www.schuette-lihotzky.at/en/home/

And you’ll probably enjoy this interactive visual exploration of countless Frankfurt Kitchens by artist Laura J. Gerlach: https://bibliothek-der-frankfurter-kuechen.de/en

If you want to find out more, Susan recommends this book:

For more Dead Lady content, why not join us on Patreon?  Over at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast we bring you special Dead Lady features each month. In August, Susan is talking about the sphinx of fashion, Madame Grès, and what we owe people from history who liked to keep their private lives private. You can support us with as little as 2 dollars or euros a month, or even become a free member if you like – and enjoy access to some of our archive.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire. The podcast is created, produced and edited by Susan Stone.

Our theme tune is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon. We will be back again next month with another fabulous Dead Lady. Thanks for listening! 

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/

In this episode, DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens introduces us to a woman of many lives, many careers, and many misadventures. Victoria Woodhull worked a clairvoyant and faith healer, she opened a financial firm on Wall Street, she started a newspaper, campaigned for women’s and worker’s rights, and ran for President — all in late 1800s USA.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins host/producer Susan Stone to introduce our new season.

Show notes:

If you want to know more about Victoria Woodhull, out of the many books about her, Florian recommends the lengthy Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism, and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull by Barbara Goldsmith, and the shorter The Improbable Victoria Woodhull by Eden Collinsworth.

For more Dead Lady content, why not join us on Patreon?  Over at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast we bring you special Dead Lady features each month. In the newest, Katy and Susan are talking about Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK. It’s really a fascinating and tragic story, and an important one. You can support us with as little as 2 dollars or euros a month, or even become a free member if you like – and enjoy access to some of our archive.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire. The podcast is created, produced and edited by Susan Stone.

Our theme tune is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon. We will be back again next month with another fabulous Dead Lady. Thanks for listening!

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/

In this episode, we meet Alice Guy, a woman of filmmaking firsts. She was truly inspired by the moving image in its earliest form, and her innovations changed film and entertainment forever.  She became the first filmmaker to incorporate narrative, certainly the first woman director, and probably the only one until 1906. After moving to the US, she was then the first woman to own a studio, in the pre-Hollywood moviemaking hub of Flushing, New York.  Few of her films have survived, but her legacy is lasting. 

Berlin-based, Australian-born writer and editor Alina Hoyne tells Alice’s story, while DLS-cofounder Katy Derbyshire and host/producer/host Susan Stone are on hand to do the introducing. 

Show notes:

Equine content

Cabbage patch kids, a later iteration of Alice’s first film

Alice in the press

Matrimony’s Speed Limit A House Divided

For even more Dead Ladies, we have a Patreon for you! Each month there’s a special Dead Lady segment – sometimes we’re discussing books, or films, or giving a preview of upcoming featured Dead Ladies.  This month there’s a sort of a travelogue from Prague where Susan writes about several different Czech artists. 

You can support us there and enjoy the  exclusive bonus content by making a small monthly donation, or as a free member — Find it at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire. The podcast is created, produced and edited by Susan Stone.

Our theme tune is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon. We will be back again next month with another fabulous Dead Lady.

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/

In this episode, we meet Una Marson, a Jamaican writer, journalist, and radio producer, who shared her talents and voice in poetry, plays, and on the BBC, after her ambition took her to London in the 1930s. She described as the first Black feminist to speak out against racism and sexism in Britain.  We know little about her life post-1945, when she returned to Jamaica and continued writing poetry and fighting discrimination – but a recent rediscovery in the UK has led to a TV documentary and a library named in her honor.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire tells Una’s story, and joins host/producer Susan Stone to set the scene. 

Show notes:

Sites from Una’s life

Some of Una’s writing

Remembering Una Marson in the UK

Part of Rosa-Johan Uddoh’s excellent audio work Una’s Voice. Listen to it next!

Further reading!

Katy also mentions her previous talk on another BBC notable, composer Delia Derbyshire (no relation!). You can hear it in Episode 60 here: https://deadladiesshow.com/2023/02/16/podcast-60-delia-derbyshire/

Hey friends in Berlin! Write this date on your calendar — June 7th. We will host our classic bilingual live show on a Sunday night, so save the date. Follow us on social media @deadladiesshow, or sign up to our newsletter at this link: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com/ to stay informed about live events. 

You can get even more Dead Lady content, and help support us, by becoming a Patreon member at  patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast ! Our members get access to our premium audio and written content where we talk about Dead Lady books, music, and more, and sometimes we offer a sneak preview of Dead Ladies we’re going to feature in the future —we talked about Una Marson there last year. Memberships starting at 2 euros or 2 dollars and it really gives us moral as well as a little financial support. You can also follow our content there for free! Thanks for supporting us and sharing us with others!

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire. The podcast is created, produced and edited by Susan Stone.

Our theme tune is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon. We will be back again next month with another fabulous Dead Lady.

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/

We kick off Season Nine of the podcast by meeting a woman who could be called the godmother of true crime.

Producer/host Susan Stone tells the story of F. Tennyson Jesse, an English journalist, criminologist, and writer. The daughter of a vicar who dragged the family around the British empire, she trained as a painter before moving to London in 1911. Journalism beckoned, but she was not put off by losing the use of her right hand in a plane accident, learning to type left-handed. Known as Fryn to her friends, she reported from the ground during World War I and published fiction, before moving into criminology and true crime writing. Her 1924 book Murder and its Motives set out six basic motivations for killing, a very influential theory, and she wrote about several of the most notorious crimes in the first half of the 20th century.  Fryn also had a rather dramatic private life thanks to her doctor-turned-playwright husband Tottie, who kept their marriage secret for several years.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins Susan to introduce our new season.

Show notes:

A Pin to See the Peepshow would be her most popular book (and a favorite of Dorothy L. Sayers!); it was based on the Thompson–Bywaters murder case.

If you want to know more about Fryn, check out her secretary’s Joanna Colenbrander’s meandering A Portrait of Fryn and Kate Summerscale’s The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place.

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/

It’s our last episode of 2025, and the final episode of Season 8! Susan, Katy and Florian meet up to toast the end of another season, and of course to clink glasses in honor of our featured Dead Lady, Eileen Agar. 

Eileen Agar was the sort of artist who looked at a hat and thought, What if it grew feathers, sprouted seashells, and started whispering secrets to strangers? Born in Buenos Aires and raised in Britain, Agar was a painter, collagist and sculptor with a delicious taste for the absurd. She danced on the edges of Surrealism—sometimes elbowing her way in, sometimes pirouetting just out of reach—and exhibited alongside the likes of Dalí and Ernst, though she never let their mustaches overshadow her own wildly imaginative vision. DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens brings us her story. 

Show notes:

An early object, “poor Robin’s skull”

If you want to explore Eileen Agar and her work a little more, head over to the Tate’s online treasure chest.

Want to give the gift of Dead Ladies? Why not choose a gift subscription to our Patreon? Or maybe you yourself need even more Dead Ladies in your life? Patreon members get exclusive episodes of our Dead Lady Book Club, where we chat about books, ideas, music and more —  by and about Dead Ladies. And, of course, check out our year-end holiday edition, where we toast the ladies we lost in 2025. For just a couple of dollars, pounds or euros a month, you can support our work and join in the fun. Check it out at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast  

Our theme music is  “Little Lily Swing” by Tri-Tachyon. 

Thanks for listening! We will be back again in March 2026 with another fabulous Dead Lady. 

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/

This time around we head back to New York to hear about Italian antifascist Carla Capponi. Professor Suzanne Cope, author of WOMEN OF WAR: The Italian Assassins, Spies and Couriers Who Fought the Nazis brings us Carla’s lively tale, which is full of bombs, intrigue, and bravery. DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens joins host/producer Susan Stone to introduce the talk.

Find out more about Suzanne Cope here: https://www.suzannecope.com/

Show notes:

Here’s Carla on the cover of Suzanne’s book (left): don’t smoke!

And here she is in good company, inside the book.

Carla’s fancy Roman apartment building, just to the right of Trajan’s Column

Nazis in Rome

Here’s Carla (center, kneeling) with some fellow gappisti

Via Rasella, where “Elena” planned a major attack

Celebrating Rome’s liberation

Carla later in life

And here’s Carla herself, talking Italian.

You can purchase Suzanne’s book and support our show on US Bookshop here and at Bookshop UK here.

Thanks to the team at Dead Ladies NYC for sharing this presentation with us: Molly O’Laughlin Kemper, Sheila Enright, Christopher Neil and the KGB Bar’s Lori Schwarz. Find out about their ongoing shows via their newsletter: https://deadladiesshow.substack.com/

Our next live show in Berlin will be in ACUD on December 12th. It’s going to be an all-English show, and the featured ladies are  Victoria Woodhull, Alice Guy, and F. Tennyson Jesse. Get tickets now here: https://tinyurl.com/DLSTix1212

Find us on social media @deadladiesshow and stay informed about all our events via our newsletter: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com/

Need even more Dead Ladies in your life? Become a member of our Patreon and get exclusive episodes of our Dead Lady Book Club, where we chat about books, ideas, music and more —  by and about Dead Ladies. And, of course, our year-end holiday edition, where we toast the ladies we lost in 2025. For just a couple of dollars, pounds or euros a month, you can support our work and join in the fun. Check it out at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast  

Thanks for listening! We will be back again next month with another fabulous Dead Lady. 

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/

We’re back with a delightful episode about Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, the first female chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Host Susan Stone dives deep into the history of the Seminole Indians and Betty Mae’s unusual life and times, via a talk recorded in front of a live audience in Berlin. As a mixed-race child, Betty was ‘born a crime’ according to Seminole medicine men, but she endured to lead her community as a nurse, journalist, leader, and a storyteller. 

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins host/producer Susan Stone to introduce the talk.

Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pocket Casts.

Show notes:

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/

In this episode, we hear a bit of our lovely 10th anniversary show in Berlin, and DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire gives us the rundown on  Caroline of Brunswick, who was officially queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover for three whole weeks before she died in 1821, long-estranged from her horrible husband, her cousin King George IV. They had separated shortly after the birth of their only child, and Caroline’s access to her daughter was restricted. She later moved to Italy, celebrated the right to bare arms, and lived with a handsome secretary, prompting huge amounts of gossip and countless caricatures. When George ascended to the throne, Caroline tried to cash in on her popularity and become queen, but she was literally locked out of the coronation. 

Recorded live at Lettrétage by Betty Kapun.

Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pocket Casts.

Show notes:

Decadent Prince George has a special appeal to screenwriters, here in Blackadder (left) and The Madness of King George.

Sexy caricatures!

Caroline later in life

Two excellent books for finding out more:

Our next live show in Berlin will be on September 14th at 7pm in ACUD so please save the date! Subscribe to our newsletter to keep informed here: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com

If you’re in the New York area you won’t want to miss Dead Ladies NYC and their cavalcade of bad girls on July 5th. Find out more here: https://deadladiesshow.substack.com and here: @deadladiesnyc 

If you like, follow us on social media @deadladiesshow where we share pictures and info about all of the wonderful Dead Ladies we’ve covered so far. You can also drop us a line via [email protected]  and we’re on BlueSky, too: https://bsky.app/profile/deadladiesshow.bsky.social

Our theme music is  “Little Lily Swing” by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back with a new episode next month.

The Dead Ladies Show is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://deadladiesshow.com/