Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
History Hit
Join sex historian Dr Kate Lister on Betwixt the Sheets as she gets intimate with the stories that would make your history teacher blush.What were the Victorians really like behind closed (bedroom) doors? How did the Black Death favour women in medieval England? And what was Caesar like in the sack? Join Kate as she bed-hops around different time periods; from ancient civilisations, to the middle ages, to renaissance and early modern...right up to now.You’ll laugh, you’ll wince, and you’ll ask yourself how much has actually changed.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society - a podcast from History Hit.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.
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 27, 2026 • 58min
The Most Scandalous Author in 19th-Century France
Fiona Sampson, poet and biographer of George Sand, explores Aurore Dupin’s reinvention as a literary icon. She discusses Sand’s rise to fame, her choice of a male name and mens dress as a claim to authority, her prolific invisible labour and tangled romantic life, and why her literary achievements were overshadowed by scandal and gendered criticism.
Feb 24, 2026 • 40min
A Very Borgia Break Up | History's Worst Breakups
Catherine Fletcher, historian and author of books on Renaissance power, guides a dive into Lucrezia Borgia’s scandalous first marriage. Short scenes cover the lavish Vatican wedding, wartime separation, a contested annulment framed as impotence, lurid incest rumors, suspicious deaths, and the political fallout that reshaped reputations.
4 snips
Feb 20, 2026 • 46min
The Medici vs. Tudor Rivalry
Estelle Paranque, historian and author specializing in Elizabeth I and Catherine de' Medici, explores their unexpected rises and rivalrous diplomacy. Short, vivid scenes cover contrasting personalities and sex lives. Hear tactics: marriage offers as statecraft, Le Havre’s fallout, the Mary Stuart crisis, and theatrical courtship with the Duke of Anjou.
8 snips
Feb 17, 2026 • 41min
Who Makes a Doll of their Ex? | History's Worst Break Ups
Caitlin Hoerr, an art historian and writer, unpacks the tumultuous affair between Oskar Kokoschka and Alma Mahler. She covers Kokoschka’s furious expressionist style and obsessive portraits. The story of the commissioned life-sized Alma doll, its public appearances, and its dramatic beheading is explored. The discussion also touches on jealousy, reputation, and the artistic fallout from their breakup.
Feb 13, 2026 • 48min
The Truth about Frida Kahlo
Patience Schell, Chair in Hispanic Studies and Frida Kahlo expert, digs into Kahlo’s upbringing, the bus crash that launched her painting, and her stormy marriage to Diego Rivera. She also explores Kahlo’s lovers, gender play in her work, lifelong health battles, and how Mexican revolution and identity shaped her public image.
Feb 10, 2026 • 58min
Lord Byron vs. Lady Lamb | History's Worst Breakups
Professor Paul Douglass, Emeritus Professor of English and biographer of Lady Caroline Lamb, revisits the volatile relationship between Lord Byron and Lady Caroline Lamb. He explores their explosive chemistry, public scandal, dramatic farewell gestures like a notorious lock of hair, Caroline's melodramatic reactions and literary reprisals, and how history has judged her.
Feb 6, 2026 • 51min
Sex & Scandal behind Wuthering Heights
Dr Claire O'Callaghan, Brontë scholar and editor of Brontë Studies, offers expert context on Emily Brontë and her family. Conversation covers Victorian shock at Wuthering Heights, the Brontës' reading influences, the moors as creative force, Branwell's troubled life, and debates over passion, violence and how a faithful screen adaptation might handle the novel's darkness.
9 snips
Feb 3, 2026 • 54min
Henry VIII vs. Catherine of Aragon | History's Worst Breakups
Gareth Russell, author and historian of British royalty, explains Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon's catastrophic split. He recounts the courtroom drama, the pope and papal politics, and Catherine's defiant public defence. Conversation covers Anne Boleyn's rise, the annulment strategy, and how this break reshaped church, state and international alliances.
Jan 30, 2026 • 40min
How Filthy Were the Victorians?
Lee Jackson, historian of Victorian urban life and author of Dirty Old London, explains Victorian sanitation and public toilets. He discusses the rise of the sanitary question, clashes between miasma and germ theory, and how flush toilets and sewers reshaped cities. He also covers burial crises, public baths, class gaps in bathing, and the political crisis that built modern sewers.
Jan 27, 2026 • 45min
The Most Notorious Sex Worker of 18th Century Dublin
Anthony Delaney, historian and author specializing in queer and 18th‑century Dublin history, guides us through the life of Peg Plunkett. Learn about Dublin’s Georgian divides. Hear about Peg’s rise from precarious lodgings to running a brothel, her patrons and branding as Mrs Leeson. Discover violent attacks, courtroom drama over Richard Crosby, memoir culture and her rocky retirement.
