Lovers and La Maupin

In 1968, a woman wrote a romantic story about Kirk and Spock, passed it quietly among friends, and hoped it would never see the light of day. But before vanishing entirely, The Ring of Soshern had become the stuff of legend. The quest to recover it would lead to a community of wo ...  Show more

In 1847, James Young Simpson successfully used chloroform for the first time to help in childbirth. But the anesthetic was still controversial and dangerous, which made it all the more risky when Simpson was faced with a royal patient: Queen Victoria. Support Noble Blood:—ORDER ' ...  Show more

This episode revisits the story of poet, philosopher and theologian Abelard, and his student Heloise. This is a tragic love story, complete with lovers forced apart, a secret marriage, a castration and repeated exhumations. Happy Valentine's Day!

*This episode contains very strong language and adult content*

A semi autobiographical account from a conflicted man? An ode to a wife’s sexual desire? A criminally obscene novel?

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is one of the most famous texts from the past century ...

From prehistoric carvings and medieval spell books to grand romantic gestures and tokens of affection, throughout history there has been no shortage of ways to say those three little words. Speaking to Charlotte Hodgman, Edward Brooke-Hitching shares some incredible, and curious, ...  Show more

Our focus today is on a woman who was actually covered in the podcast several years ago. But she's a figure so mythic and with so many variations to her story that we wanted to give her another look and a little more time.