
An obscenity trial that shocked Victorian Britain
HistoryExtra podcast
03/18/24
•38m
About
Comments
Featured In
In 1877, Annie Besant took the stand. She was on trial for selling an "obscene publication" – a pamphlet designed to educate the masses on birth control. Author Michael Meyer tells Ellie Cawthorne about how this sensational legal case lit a fire under Victorian society, and why the woman at the centre of it decided to represent herself in the courtroom.
(Ad) Michael Meyer is the author of A Dirty, Filthy Book: Sex, Scandal, and One Woman’s Fight in the Victorian Trial of the Century WH Allen, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dirty-Filthy-Book-Victorians-1877-1888/dp/0753559927/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Previous Episode

The Capetians: everything you wanted to know
March 17, 2024
•55m
How did the Capetian dynasty hold on to the French throne for such a long time during the Middle Ages? How did deep-seated religious beliefs shape their rule? And what was the ‘Capetian miracle’? Speaking to Emily Briffett, Justine Firnhaber-Baker answers listener questions on the influential French dynasty – from how they popularised the name 'Phillip' and the iconic fleur-de-lis, to their religiously-inspired 'royal touch'.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Next Episode

Mary Wollstonecraft: life of the week
March 19, 2024
•41m
Mary Wollstonecraft was a firebrand thinker of the Enlightenment – proposing radical ideas about the fundamental rights of women. And her life was just as groundbreaking as her work, from having a front row seat at the French Revolution and embarking on a treasure hunt for stolen silver along the Norwegian coast, to courting scandal by giving birth outside of wedlock. In today's Life of the Week episode, author Bee Rowlatt tells Ellie Cawthorne more about Wollstonecraft's life and legacy.
(Ad) Bee Rowlatt is the author of In Search of Mary: The Mother of All Journeys (Alma Books, 2015). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Mary-Mother-All-Journeys/dp/1846883784/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted




