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May 02, 2026

The fire that started a Victorian gender war

21 minutes

Paris, 1897. The Bazar de la Charité blaze killed 118 women and girls. Where were the men?

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On this episode:

Isabelle Roughol - Host

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Jump to:

(00:00) - Intro

(00:35) - Member shout-out

(01:55) - Upcoming guests

(03:04) - This week's story

(04:25) - Tuesday, May 4th, 1897: A fire at a Catholic charity sale.

(08:13) - Cowardly Gentlemen and Working Class Heroes

(10:43) - The "Knights Jitters"

(11:54) - Heroes and martyrs in a political storm

(14:32) - And women in all that?

(16:41) - Did the behaviour of men cause more women to die?

(17:56) - An intimate tragedy

(18:46) - Outro

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By Isabelle Roughol