Continuing on in our academic/linguistics era, I'm joined today by Dr. Jenni Nuttall to talk about her new book Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women's Words.

So many of the words that we use to chronicle women’s lives feel awkward or alien. Medical terms are scrupulously accurate but antiseptic. Slang and obscenities have shock value, yet they perpetuate taboos. Where are the plain, honest words for women’s daily lives? Jenni is here to explain all!

Learn more about Jenni and her work at stylisticienne.com

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Bess of Hardwick (birth name: Elizabeth Cavendish) appeared a few times throughout the Mary, Queen of Scots series. And today, we're diving into just how this low(ish) born woman became the second-wealthiest woman in Tudor England (after Queen Liz I).

We spill all the tea: the four husbands, the attempted poisonings, the embroideries, her dealings with the Grey family, the house building, the useless sons (and step-sons) and the LATE BREAKING NEWS.

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References:

Devices and Desires: Bess of Hardwick and the Building of Elizabethan England by Kate Hubbard

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-66265517

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/peak-district-derbyshire/hardwick

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/peak-district-derbyshire/hardwick/gideon-tapestry-project-at-hardwick-hall

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Recommended podcast:

Dwarfism History with Aubrey Smalls

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This week, we're talking with Yunte Huang about his new biography of movie star Anna May Wong, Daughter of the Dragon.

A trenchant reclamation of the Chinese American movie star, whose battles against cinematic exploitation and endemic racism are set against the currents of twentieth-century history.

Learn more about Yunte Huang and his books at yuntehuang.com.

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As part of the Mary, Queen of Scots series today we're talking about Mary's sister-in-law, Elisabeth of Valois. Our guest is Leah Redmond Chang, whose biography of Elisabeth, Catherine de'Medici, and Mary, Queen of Scots has just been published.

Young Queens: Three Renaissance Queens and the Price of Power follows the intertwined stories of the three women from girlhood through young adulthood, painting a picture of a world in which a woman could wield power at the highest level yet remain at the mercy of the state, her body serving as the currency of empire and dynasty, sacrificed to the will of husband, family, kingdom.

Learn more about Leah and her book at leahredmondchang.com

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This week, I'm joined by author Rachel Cantor to talk about her new book, Half-Life of a Stolen Sister, a retelling of the story of the Brontë siblings.

Chapter by chapter, the novel brings together diaries, letters, home movies, television and radio interviews, deathbed monologues, and fragments from the sprawling invented worlds of the siblings’ childhood. As it does so, a kaleidoscopic portrait emerges, giving us with startling intensity and invention new ways of seeing—and reading—the sisters who would create some of the supreme works of literature of all time.

Learn more about Rachel and her books at rachelcantor.com

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This week, we're talking with author Craig Shreve about his new novel, The African Samurai.

Set in late 16th-century Africa, India, Portugal, and Japan, The African Samurai is a powerful historical novel based on the true story of Yasuke, Japan’s first foreign-born samurai and the only samurai of African descent.

Learn more about Craig Shreve and his books at craigshreve.com and follow him on social media @ cgshreve

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Buy The African Samurai from bookshop.org and support Vulgar History with this link: https://bookshop.org/a/1419/9781668002865

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Today we're talking with debut novelist Jamila Ahmed about her book Every Rising Sun. Every Rising Sun is a retelling of the tale of Scheherazade, set amid the real-life events of twelfth-century Persia and the third crusade.

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When it comes to Mary's legacy and scandilicious score, there's too much for one person to cover. Which is why I've brought in Vulgar History all-stars (and Mary QofS fans) Allison Epstein and Lana Wood Johnson for this discussion. We also got input from author and Scottish person Jennifer Morag Henderson to help figure out the scores. Is it any wonder this is nearly 2.5 hours long? Mary deserves no less.

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Learn more about Lana Wood Johnson and her books at lanawoodjohnson.com and follow her on IG and Threads at @ muliebris

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Learn more about Allison Epstein and their books at allisonepstein.com and follow them on IG and Twitter @ rapscallison

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Talking about 10th-century Norway, the mythical figure of Gunnhild, and the importance of women's work with Genevieve Gornichec!

Learn more about Genevieve and her books at genevievegornichec.com

Buy The Weaver and the Witch Queen from bookshop.org and support Vulgar History with this link: https://bookshop.org/a/1419/9780593438244

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As a way to tie a bow on this season, we're learning more about Mary, Queen of Scots's inner life, motivations, and emotions through her use of textiles. I'm joined by author Clare Hunter, author of Embroidering Her Truth: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Language of Power, to discuss what we can learn about Mary from what she wore, and what she stitched.

Learn more about Clare and her work at her website sewingmatters.co.uk

Buy Embroidering Her Truth: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Language of Power from bookshop.org and support Vulgar History with this link: https://bookshop.org/a/1419/9781529346282 

And you can also buy Clare’s other book Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle wherever you get books including this link: https://bookshop.org/a/1419/9781419747656

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