How Sexy Was Shakespeare?
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
12/30/25
•47m
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There's a bit of interest around Shakespeare at the minute - can we call this the Paul Mescal effect?
The Bard’s work featured many references to sex and sexuality - some more obvious than others. But what does the work reveal about the sexuality of Shakespeare himself?
Despite being married with three kids to Anne Hathaway in the sleepy suburbs of Stratford-upon-Avon, there’s much to suggest he lived a more extravagant life during his visits to London.
Joining Kate today is author of The Life of the Author: William Shakespeare, Anna Beer, to unpick the hints and clues to the playwright’s sexuality that lay within his work.
This episode was edited by Tomos Delargy. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
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All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
How Hot Was Lord Byron?
December 26, 2025
•42m
How 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' was Lord Byron really?
We know the Romantic poet had a bit of a reputation, but how true was it? And how unusual would his behaviour have been?
In this episode from our series on the worst f*ckboys in history, we're digging into Byron's relationships with Andrew Stauffer, President of the Byron Society of America, professor and chair of the Department of English at the University of Virginia, and author of 'Byron: A Life in Ten Letters'.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
How Filthy Were The Romans?
January 2
•36m
Some of the key remnants of the Roman Empire are their public baths - huge complexes, multiple different rooms, the basis of many of our modern spas. But were the Romans clean?
How regularly did they wash? Were they really using urine to wash clothes? And what's this about a communal wiping stick?
Kate is joined by the wonderful Alexander Meddings for the first episode in a series where we are trying to find out just how smelly people were in history. Alex is a Rome-based historian and tour guide. Find out more about his work here: https://alexandermeddings.com/
This episode was edited by Nick Thomson. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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