PODCAST

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

BBC Radio 4

Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective.

true crime

All Episodes

28:10

17. Marguerite Fahmy - Self-confessed Killer

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2023/05/01

Lucy Worsley takes a fresh look at an infamous shooting that took place at London’s Savoy Hotel, amid all the wealth and glamour of the Roaring ‘20s.On 10th July 1923, at the height of a violent thunderstorm, Marguerite Fahmy shoots her new husband at close range with a pistol – in the corridor, outside their opulent suite. It’s clear she’s killed him, but why? Lucy is joined by Nneka Akudolu KC, a barrister with 20 years’ experience of exactly this kind of complex case, and Lady Killers’ in-house

28:23

16. Edith Thompson - Modern Woman on Trial

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2023/04/24

In this episode of Lady Killers, we travel back to the Roaring 20s as Lucy Worsley and guest detective Sasha Wass KC investigate how Edith Thompson, a woman who merely witnessed the violent killing of her husband, found herself on trial for his murder.Sasha Wass KC has taken on some of the legal system's most notable cases - involving Rosemary West, Rolf Harris and Johnny Depp. As a judge, prosecutor and defender, she has the benefit of understanding all dimensions of the criminal process, which is

28:40

15. Women's Bodies. Women's Rights

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2023/04/17

In this episode of Lady Killers, Lucy Worsley, Professor Rosalind Crone and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika discuss the first four cases - brothel-keeper Mary McKinnon, chocolate-cream killer Christiana Edmonds, enslaved woman Margaret Garner and abortionist Elizabeth Taylor. They examine legal prejudice, frustrated sexual desire, illegal abortion, and slavery.They explore women’s rights over their own bodies, and dig a little deeper into the parallels between women in the 19th century and women in

29:22

14. Mary McKinnon - Prejudice Against Sex Workers

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2023/04/10

In Lady Killers, Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of 19th and early 20th century women from a contemporary, feminist perspective. In this episode, Lucy is joined by Dr Anastacia Ryan, Founder of SISU, a Glasgow-based charity for women at risk and Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Glasgow, to explore the case of Mary McKinnon. Mary lives in Edinburgh, Scotland in the 1820s, and runs a tavern on South Bridge. Except her tavern, like many at the time, has another side to it – it’s

28:53

13. Elizabeth Taylor - Serial Abortionist

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2023/04/03

Lucy Worsley looks at the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective. In this episode, Lucy is joined by Deborah Frances-White, women’s rights campaigner, comedian and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, to explore the case of Elizabeth Taylor, a backstreet abortionist in late 19th century Melbourne, Australia who spent decades playing cat and mouse with the law. They consider Elizabeth Taylor’s story in the context of women’s rights in 19th century Australia and the

29:24

12. Margaret Garner - Icon of Tragedy & Resistance

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2023/03/27

Lucy Worsley looks at the crimes of women from the 19th and early 20th centuries from a contemporary, feminist perspective. Lucy explores the story of Margaret Garner, an enslaved mother in 1850s America, who commits a murder that transforms her into an icon of tragedy and resistance. Her life inspired Tony Morrison’s Pulitzer-winning novel Beloved. To explore Margaret Garner’s remarkable story and its contemporary resonances Lucy is joined by Nikki M Taylor, Professor of African American

29:20

11. Christiana Edmunds - Chocolate Cream Killer

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2023/03/20

Lucy Worsley looks at the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective. In the first case in her new series, Lucy explores the story of Christiana Edmunds, a respectable spinster who embarks on a mass poisoning spree when the man she loves fails to return her affection. Lucy is joined by Dr Gwen Adshead, a forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist who has worked for many years at Broadmoor Hospital. Gwen offers fascinating insights into one of the most remarkable, and

2:55

Introducing Lady Killers Series 2

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2023/03/13

Lucy and a crack team of female detectives uncover new cases in Lady Killers series 2. Listen to all episodes first on BBC Sounds from Monday 20th March 2023.

14:50

Bonus episode: Lucy Worsley talks to Greg Jenner

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/29

Lucy talks to fellow historian Greg Jenner about "larking about" on the TV show Horrible Histories, how to triumph at a Tudor history quiz (visit a museum on the subject first!), working with your idols (Stephen Fry) and the process and extraordinary detail that goes into making You're Dead To Me. You can listen to Greg's podcast by searching for You're Dead To Me on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

29:31

10. Mad, Bad And Dangerous To Know

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/25

In this final episode of Lady Killers, Lucy Worsley and Dr Rosalind Crone look back and discuss the last four cases and the issues and themes they share.Together they re-examine two of Britain’s most notorious serial killers, Amelia Dyer who’s thought to have killed hundreds of babies and children and Mary Ann Cotton who murdered three of her husbands and numerous children and step-children. Over in the United States they look back at Hannah Mary Tabbs, who killed her lover and back in London delve

29:51

9. Hannah Mary Tabbs

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/25

Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective. This time, Lucy explores the case of Hannah Mary Tabbs, who was very good at being very bad. An African-American woman living in Philadelphia in the 1880s, Hannah Mary was arrested after the discovery of the headless, limbless torso of her lover, Wakefield Gaines. With the help of Philadelphian historian Annie Anderson, Lucy discovers what life was like for African-American women living in the city

29:08

8. Esther Lack

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/25

Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of 19th century women in the UK, North America and beyond from a contemporary, feminist perspective. Here, Lucy tells the story of the murderess Esther Lack and asks whether she was a cold-blooded child killer, or a loving mother driven to despair by poverty and ill health.In the early hours of the morning at the 22nd of August 1865 John Lack, a nightwatchman at a warehouse on the south bank of the River Thames, walked the short distance back to his home, three

29:13

7. Mary Ann Cotton

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/25

Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective.This time, Lucy visits County Durham in North East England, to reinvestigate the woman known as Britain’s first female serial killer. Mary Ann Cotton was accused of murdering her stepson in 1872, after telling the local grocer that she was sure her stepson will die soon. When her stepson died a few days later, the police were called in.Following a rushed post-mortem and inquest, Cotton seemed to have

28:33

6. Amelia Dyer

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/25

Lucy Worsley investigates the ordinary lives and extraordinary crimes of Victorian women accompanied by a team of female detectives. This time, Lucy is on the case of a baby farmer who’s thought to have killed between 200 and 400 children, by strangling them and throwing the bodies in the River Thames.Baby farming was almost an acceptable practice in the 19th century, seen as a necessary solution to deal with the 50,000 babies that were born illegitimately each year. The shame and economic

28:09

5. Getting Away With It

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/25

In this episode of Lady Killers, Lucy Worsley and Dr Rosalind Crone look back and discuss the first four cases and the issues and themes they share.Together they look again at the alleged poisoners Florence Bravo and Madeleine Smith, who were said to have killed their respective husband and lover. They delve deeper into the story of the American heiress Lizzie Borden, accused of murdering her father and stepmother and discuss the teenage servant, Grace Marks who was jailed for killing her master and

28:28

4. Grace Marks

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/25

Lucy Worsley investigates the ordinary lives and extraordinary crimes of Victorian women. This story is about a young servant, Grace Marks, accused of two brutal murders that generated enormous attention in the new world of Upper Canada in 1843. In that time and in that place, murders were rare - and rarer still was a female murderer. Grace Marks and stable boy James McDermott went on the run, ending up in Lewiston, New York after their employers Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper, Nancy were

28:53

3. Lizzie Borden

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/25

On a hot August day in 1892, a wealthy Massachusetts couple, Andrew and Abby Borden, were hacked to death during broad daylight in their home in the small industrial city of Fall River. Lizzie Borden, Andrew’s daughter from his first marriage, was arrested for double homicide. The trial gripped the nation – especially Victorian women who pack the courtroom to watch proceedings, in what one reporter described as a sea of calico and lace – referring to the female interest that bridges social divides

28:49

2. Madeleine Smith

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/07/25

Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective. In this episode, Lucy explores the case of a young lady called Madeleine Smith. Part of high society in Glasgow in the 1850s, she was living the ideal life, attending balls and concerts, promenading around the shopping districts and spending her summers at her family’s large country home. But she was hiding a shameful secret - a clandestine love affair with a man ten years her senior and well below

29:08

1. Florence Bravo

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/04/25

Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective. In the first case in the series, Lucy explores the story of Florence Bravo, the woman at the heart of one of the most sensational unsolved murder cases of the Victorian era, and asks whether she was a ruthless poisoner or an abused wife.Lucy visits The Priory, Florence Bravo’s grand house in Balham where, on 21st April 1876, after three days of agony, her young husband Charles died of poisoning. They

3:07

Welcome to Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley ·

2022/04/20

Join Lucy Worsley and a team of female detectives as they investigate the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective. If you like what you hear, the whole series will be available to listen to from the 25th of July wherever you listen to podcasts. Or you can hear it right now in the UK – before anywhere else – first on BBC Sounds.

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Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

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