Author Interview: Hallie Rubenhold (Story of a Murder)

April 9, 2025

Belle Elmore was born in a Brooklyn tenement and became a star on London’s music hall scene. She devoted herself to fundraising for the Music Hall Ladies Guild and formed close friendships with her fellow performers. And then she was murdered by her husband.

Author Hallie Rubenhold explores Belle’s life and death in her new book Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen. Hallie joins us on the podcast to share Belle’s story, and why she deserves to be seen as much more than just a murder victim.

Buy a copy of Hallie’s book from bookshop.org

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Canadian History (part 4): Acadian Martyr Madame La Tour

April 5, 2025

Françoise-Marie Jacquelin, Madame La Tour, was a French woman in the 17th century remembered for her heroic deeds after she moved to the French colony in modern-day New Brunswick, Canada.

Learn more about Place Fort La Tour in modern-day New Brunswick.

Canadian voters: get info on strategic voting in your riding at https://smartvoting.ca/

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Women Leaders, part 9: The Murderous Medieval Queen (Rerelease)

April 2, 2025

Joanna of Naples (1326-1382) was Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily for thirty action-packed and highly scandilicious years. This story has it all: kidnappings! Revenge murders! Evil popes! Evil husbands! Being trapped in an iron cage for fourteen years! The black plague!

References:

Queens of Infamy: Joanna of Naples by Anne Theriault on Longreads

The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily by Nancy Goldstone

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Canadian History (part 3): Anahareo Married A Liar

March 28, 2025

Anahareo, also known as Gertrude Bernard, was a Canadian writer, animal rights activist and conservationist of Algonquin and Mohawk ancestry. She also invented having a bob with bangs.

Canadians: get info on strategic voting for the federal election at SmartVoting.ca

Buy a copy of Anahareo’s book Devil in Deerskins: My Life With Grey Owl

Info on Grey Owl’s cabin in Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan

References:

Anahareo, by Alison Wick

Anahareo (Wikipedia)

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Women Leaders, part 8: Queen Anne: Bisexual Icon (Rerelease)

March 26, 2025

Anne I (1665 – 1714), best known as the main character of the movie The Favourite, was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland and then of Great Britain and Ireland for twelve years. Her life story is a gossip buffet of rivalry, death, and resiliency. But how will she score on the scandilicious scale??

References:

Queen Anne: Politics and Passion by Anne Somerset

The Favourite: The Life of Sarah Churchill and the History Behind the Major Motion Picture by Ophelia Field

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Canadian History (part 2): WWII Resistance Fighter, Mona Parsons

March 21, 2025

I’m back and as Canadian as ever, ready to share the nonstop twists and turns of the story of Mona Parsons! Featuring: my hometown, and maybe my ancestor? And also, hard launching What’shisface, my boyfriend! Elbows up, y’all.

Learn more about Mona Parsons at monaparsons.ca

Get a copy of Mona Parsons: From Privilege to Prison, From Nova Scotia to Nazi Europe by Andria Hill-Lehr

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Eugénie of France, the Rebel Empress (with Nancy Goldstone)

March 19, 2025

Eugénie of France was one of the most influential and glamorous women in nineteenth-century Europe. Nancy Goldstone’s new book Rebel Empresses explores Eugénie’s efforts to rule amid the scandal, intrigue, tragedy, and violence of their era.

Order a copy of Nancy Goldstone’s book The Rebel Empresses: Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France, Power and Glamour in the Struggle for Europe.

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Canadian History (part 1): Civil Rights Icon, Viola Desmond

March 13, 2025

Time to learn about Canadian history! In this first Canadian Heritage Minute(s) we learn about:

Why Canada has united in rage-patriotism
What “elbows up” means
And, most importantly, the story of iconic Canadian heroine Viola Desmond!

References:

Canadian History Ehx episode about Viola Desmond

‘Elbows up’ rallying cry evokes memories of Mr. Hockey by Alastair Steele, CBC

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Author Interview: Veronica Chapa (Malinalli)

March 12, 2025

A real-life historical figure, the woman known as Malinalli, Malintzin, La Malinche and Doña Marina is best known as the Nahua interpreter who helped Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés communicate with the native people of Mexico. But she was a whole person long before he arrived.

Mexican-American author Veronica Chapa has retold her story in the new novel Malinalli, and joins us to talk about the real history that inspired her book.

Buy a copy of Malinalli by Veronica Chapa.

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Fagin the Thief: Live from Minneapolis with Allison Epstein!

March 10, 2025

Here’s a recording of the event that I did last week in Minneapolis at Magers & Quinn booksellers with Allison Epstein! You may recognize a familiar voice from the audience, which is Minneapolis local and Vulgar History icon Lana Wood Johnson! Yes, this is the event where Lana, Allison and I all met each other in person for the FIRST TIME in front of twenty other people!

Buy a copy of Fagin the Thief here!

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