Victorian Legacies

Look around. What do you see? How do the Victorians continue to influence our lives, our society, our entertainment? Join Emma Catan as we explore the legacy of the Victorians. Where fiction becomes fact.This episode is the series trailer! Join me as I briefly explain why I came up with this podcast, as a way to navigate my learning journey as a PhD researcher in neo-Victorian literature. Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundSpecial thanks go to Julia Ditter (Northumbria University)Check us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I discuss my research interests; what led me into research and neo-Victorian studies. I talk about my PhD project, the texts I am working with, and what thoughts I have about the influence of the nineteenth century.Episode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Stephanie Farnsworth, who researches into mutants and body horror in video games. We'll discuss her research and the influences of the 19th century (particularly, the Gothic) in creative works such as video games.About my guest: Stephanie Farnsworth is a PhD candidate at the University of Sunderland, and her research focuses on examining 'mutants' and body horror in video games. While her work focuses on video games which often are set in futuristic societies, the narratives are heavily rooted in Gothic tradition and classic stories such as Frankenstein, and Jekyll and Hyde. She is also the founder of MultiPlay - an academic network for promoting a multidisciplinary approach to video games studies.For more information on Steph's work, check out the links and details below:https://mutanttheory.com/ https://multiplaynetwork.org/Episode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Paulus Linnaeus, a graphic novellist who has published The Demonhuntress series. We discuss how his incredible experiences led him to change career, and how he developed The Demonhuntress series. Our chat centres on his recent publications which centred around Jack the Ripper, as well as the upcoming second full-length volume of the series, which features the Orient Express, and the Hope Diamond.About my guest:Former professor, doctor, parachutist, military instructor, scuba diver, writer, poet, and musician, who has travelled and lived throughout the world, Paulus has lived several lives and thus brings this broad perspective of life into his stories. For more information on Paulus' work, check out the links and details below:https://thedemonhuntress.com/Instagram: alexisthedemonhuntressEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Helen Davies, where we discuss her previous work on neo-Victorianism and freakery, her current project on Down's Syndrome and neo-Victorianism, and how neo-Victorianism has interested her (and her take on why we're still influenced by the 19th century). TRIGGER WARNING: contains conversation about disabilities, including past (derogatory) terminology for people with disabilities.About my guest: Dr Helen Davies is a Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Wolverhampton. She is the author of Gender and Ventriloquism in Victorian and Neo-Victorian Fiction (2012) and Neo-Victorian Freakery (2015). She’s published widely on gender, sexuality, and disability in neo-Victorianism, and is currently writing a book about Down syndrome in neo-Victorianism.For more information on Helen's work, check out the links and details below:Twitter: @DrHDaviesUniversity Email: h.davies6@wlv.ac.ukCheck out Helen's recommended sources, which she mentioned in our episode:Professor Michael Bérubé -The Secret Life of StoriesKaren Charlton, The Sculthorpe MurderAmanda Taylor, Dangerous Waves. BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Charles Dickens' Barnaby RoachEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Brontë Schiltz, where we discuss her interest in the associations between illness and queer experience in Victorian fiction such as Vernon Lee's work, and the explorations of economics in the penny dreadful, The String of Pearls and its adaptations.About my guest: Brontë has a BA in English and Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London, and an MA in English Studies: The Gothic from Manchester Metropolitan University. Her work includes academic research, journalism, creative non-fiction, short fiction, and theatre. She researches research associations between illness and queer experience in Victorian fiction, focusing particularly on Vernon Lee, and also explorations of economics in The String of Pearls and its adaptationsFor more information on Brontë's work, check out the links and details below:https://bronteschiltz.squarespace.com/Twitter: @BronteSchiltz Check out Brontë's recommended sources, which she mentioned in our episode:The String of Pearls (and its adaptations!)Works by Vernon Lee (especially A Wicked Voice)Jeanette Winterson - FrankissteinSarah Waters' novelsMary Shelley - FrankensteinEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Suzie Lennox, where we discuss her extensive research into the practice of body snatching. She'll tell us about prevention methods, some intriguing tales and escapades of the 'resurrection men', and why she continues to be fascinated by this 'taboo' subject. TRIGGER WARNING: this episode deals with issues around death, graveyards and exhumation so be prepared!About my guest: Suzie studied History at Teesside University and completed her Master’s degree in Archive Administration in 2011 before leaving the sector in 2015. She has been researching all aspects of body snatching for over fifteen years, after writing about the legal implications of the trade for her dissertation at university. Her book ‘Bodysnatchers: Digging Up The Untold Story of Britain’s Resurrection Men’ was published by Pen & Sword in 2016. For more information on Suzie's work, check out the links and details below:https://diggingup1800.com Twitter: @DiggingUp1800Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diggingup1800Check out Suzie's recommended sources, which she mentioned in our episode:Ruth Richardson - Death, Dissectiion and the DestituteWorks by Martin Fido and Hubert Cole (reading list available on Suzie's website)Suzie's book can be found at: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Bodysnatchers-Digging-Up-The-Untold-Stories-of-Britains-Resurrection-Men-Kindle/p/12635Episode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Rachel M Friars, where we discuss her research into queer Neo-Victorian works. We talk about diaries and correspondence and how this provides an interesting insight into queer identities (such as Anne Lister), and how neo-Victorianism reflects contemporary anxieties, whilst considering the enduring legacies of the Victorian. About my guest: Rachel is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of English Language and Literature at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Her current work centers on neo-Victorianism and nineteenth-century lesbian literature and history, with secondary research interests in life writing, historical fiction, true crime, popular culture, and the Gothic. Her work has recently appeared in Neo-Victorian Madness: Rediagnosing Nineteenth-Century Mental Illness in Literature and Other Media (Palgrave Macmillan 2020) and in The Journal of Neo-Victorian Studies (2020). She has forthcoming articles in Gothic Mash-Ups: Hybridity, Appropriation, and Intertextuality in Gothic Storytelling (Lexington Books 2021) and in Crime Studies Journal (2022). She is a reviewer for The Lesbrary, the co-editor-in-chief of True Crime Index, and an Associate Editor and Social Media Coordinator for PopMeC Research Collective. Rachel is co-editor-in-chief of the international literary journal, The Lamp, and regularly publishes her own short fiction and poetry. For more information on Rachel's work, check out the links and details below:https://lampjournal.com/https://truecrimeindex.ca/https://popmec.hypotheses.org/Twitter: @RachelMFriarsCheck out Rachel's recommended sources, which she mentioned in our episode:Historical Fictions Research Network - https://historicalfictionsresearch.org/Anno Dracula series - Kim NewmanPlain Bad Heroines - Emily M DanforthThe Once and Future Witches - Alix E HarrowThe Doll Factory - Elizabeth MacnealA Madness So Discreet - Mindy McGuinnessGirl in a Blue Dress - Gaynor ArnoldA Dowry of Blood - S T GibsonEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Dany van Dam, where we discuss her research into Neo-Victorian works and postcolonial approaches. We talk about how her research interests developed, the Western-centric focus of the field, and how we can consider new ways to broaden the field. About my guest: Dany has degrees in English and History, and a research MA degree in Literary Studies from Leiden University (the Netherlands). In 2016 she gained her PhD in English Literature from Cardiff University, entitled Making It Right? Writing the Other in Postcolonial Neo-Victorianism. She is the European representative of the British Association for Victorian Studies, and has recently begun a three-year lectureship at Leiden University (where, among other things, she will be teaching contemporary American fiction, of all things). She has also worked at Utrecht University, the Dutch Open University, the University of Amsterdam, at VU Amsterdam, and now at Leiden). She has mainly taught nineteenth-century literature, postcolonial/world literature, and skills courses, though she has also taught a seminar group on medieval and early-modern literature. She has articles published in Neo-Victorian Studies (on sexual and racial cross-dressing), Partial Answers (on Gail Jones' Sixty Lights) and a co-authored article coming out this year in the European Journal of English Studies. In a few months, she also has a chapter coming out in an essay collection on Neo-Victorian Things. For more information on Dany's work, check out the links and details below:https://h.d.j.van.dam@hum.leidenuniv.nl Twitter: @HDJvanDamCheck out Dany's recommended sources, which she mentioned in our episode:Minae Mizumura - A True NovelZakes Mda - Heart of RednessJolien Janzing - Charlotte Bronte's Secret Love (The Master)Barbara Ewing - The Petticoat MenWorks by HG Wells, Amitav Ghosh, Kunal BasuEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

Episode 9 - Emily Gallagher - Representations of Victorian Women's DressIn this episode I'm joined by Emily, where we discuss her research into the history and representation of Victorian women's dress post-1901. We chat about the ways in which dress and dress objects are preserved and how this has implications for certain narratives of dress - for example, understanding what working-class women wore, and how our understanding of that period can be influenced. About my guest: Emily Gallagher is a PhD candidate at Birkbeck, University of London, researching the histories and representations of Victorian women’s dress since 1901. Central to this research is the analysis of how popular images of Victorian women’s material and personal lives have been influenced by constructed feminine ‘sartorial-Victorianisms’, particularly in museum collections and displays. In 2020, Emily conducted a never-before-done survey of Victorian and Edwardian working-class dress objects in England’s museums, forming the basis of her master’s research which examined the ways in which the objects have been preserved and interpreted. Emily’s research interests include museology, the Victorians in the 20th and 21st centuries, Victorian material culture, art, photography, and dress.For more information on Emily's work, check out the links and details below:Twitter: @emilymaygaEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Samantha, where we discuss her novels, Mr Dickens and His Carol, and the recent Love and Fury! We talk about how her career in screenwriting aided her writing process, how she wrote her first novel, and how the new release celebrates Mary Wollstonecraft. While Wollstonecraft was just outside of the 19th century, we discuss the influence she had on the Victorian era (especially through her daughter, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley), and the importance of her work today.Content warning: some mentions of suicide, bodily autonomy debatesAbout my guest: Samantha Silva is an author and screenwriter based in Idaho. Over her career, she’s sold film projects to Paramount, Universal, and New Line Cinema. Love and Fury: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft is her second novel. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in One Story and LitHub. A short film, The Big Burn, which she wrote and directed, premiered at the Sun Valley Film Festival in 2018. She is currently working on a commission from Seattle Repertory Theater to adapt her debut novel, Mr. Dickens and His Carol, for the stage, and was a 2020 Idaho Commission on the Arts Literary Fellow.For more information on Samantha's work, check out the links and details below:Twitter: @samanthaswriterhttps://www.samanthasilvawriter.com/https://www.mingstudios.org/my-on-mondays.html - recent short readings for MING StudiosCheck out Samantha's recommended sources, which she mentioned in our episode:Charlotte Gordon: Romantic OutlawsMary Wollstonecraft: Letters written in Sweden, Norway and DenmarkEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Jen Baker, where we discuss her interest in the spectral child and representations of the child in death. We talk about how the legacy of these representations in the nineteenth century linger to this day, through angelic suggestions in Facebook memorials, to the horrific representations of the demonic child in horror films. We discuss her upcoming monograph which will look into these ideas in more detail. ,About my guest: Dr Jen Baker is a permanent Teaching Fellow in C19th and C20th Literature at the University of Warwick and an Early Career Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath. She is currently working on her first monograph, Spectral Embodiments of Child Death in the Long Nineteenth Century, which is under contract with Edinburgh University Press. She is also Guest Editor of the latest edition of Gothic Studies - a special issue on "Gothic and the Short Form" and has published on a range of material relating to “the child” figure, childhood, and the Gothic, Most recently, a chapter on pronouns and the spectral child in Victorian ghost stories and an article on guardianship of the ghost child forthcoming in a special issue of Women's Writing. For more information on Jen's work, check out the links and details below:https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/people/drjenbaker/Check out Jen's recommended sources, which she mentioned in our episode:Sarah Waters - The Little StrangerNick Murphy - The AwakeningJen Baker (editor) - Minor Hauntings: Chilling Tales of Spectral Youth Episode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Chris Woodyard, where we discuss how people in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries dealt with death. How death was depicted and discussed in the press (including crude jokes), the issues surrounding funeral costs and the idea of a respectable funeral. We also discuss how mourning crepe was used for political protest and criminal disguise. We talk about how some funeral practices persist to this day - not all for the better.CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of death, suicide, child deathAbout my guest: Chris Woodyard is an Ohio writer and historian. She took her undergraduate degree in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from The Ohio State University, where her emphasis was on art history. She is the author of The Victorian Book of the Dead, a book on the popular and material culture of Victorian mourning and death, as well as three volumes of Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories. She has given presentations at the Costume Society of America on shroud-makers, Victorian mourning as criminal disguise, and mourning crape as a symbol of protest. She is a member of the Costume Society of America, The Association of Dress Historians, and the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals. Her research interests center on the ephemera of dress, mourning material culture, mortuary practices, death omens, and ghosts. She is at work on the forthcoming A is for Arsenic: A Little Book of Victorian Death. For more information on Chris' work, check out the links and details below:Blog: https://thevictorianbookofthedead.wordpress.com/Facebook: The Victorian Book of the DeadTwitter: @hauntedohiobookPodcast: Boggart and Banshee: A Supernatural Podcast (available on Apple, Podchaser)Episode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Hollie Geary-Jones, where we discuss her PhD project on sex work in 19th century France and England - the differences and similarities in how these people were treated and how they pursued sex work. In particular, we discuss how Hollie's work examines dress, infection (and how sex workers were linked to public health and disease), and performance.TRIGGER WARNING - Discussion of sex work and treatment of sex workersAbout my guest: Hollie Geary-Jones is a PhD candidate and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chester. Her research is titled: ‘The Nineteenth-Century Sex Worker in Fact and Fiction: Infectious Performance and Dressing the Self’. Her interdisciplinary thesis examines the extent in which French and English sex workers were able to mislead society through clothing, body, and behaviour. Today we’ll be discussing her research and interests. For more information on Hollie's work, check out the links and details below:https://www1.chester.ac.uk/english/research/postgraduate-research-english-students/hollie-geary-jonesTwitter:@HollieGJ1Check out Hollie's recommended sources, which she mentioned in our episode:Any works by Emile Zola - particularly Nana, The Kill, The Ladies' Paradise, GerminalDr Kate Lister - A Curious History of Sex Work Episode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

Episode 14 - Dr Oindrila Ghosh - Thomas HardyIn this episode I'm joined by Dr Oindrila Ghosh where we discuss her extensive research on the works of Thomas Hardy. We discuss how her interest in literature began in her education in India, from high school into PhD and beyond. Particularly, we talk about how broadening the academic field to "non-Western" countries is particularly useful in Victorian Studies, and how her experience as an Indian academic has helped her to consider new ways of reading Hardy's work.About my guest: Oindrila is currently Associate Professor, Department of English, Diamond Harbour Women’s University. Her doctoral thesis, awarded by Jadavpur University, was on the Treatment of Motherhood in the Shorter Fiction of Thomas Hardy. She has been awarded the Charles Wallace India Trust, UK, Short Research Grant twice (2009, 2019), for Pre and Post Doctoral Research respectively. She had been invited twice to Dorchester as Speaker and Session-Chair by the Thomas Hardy Society, UK, at their Biennial Hardy Conferences in 2014 and 2016. She has also been the recipient of the prestigious Frank Pinion Award in 2014 given by the Hardy Society. She was an invited as Speaker on ‘Hardy’s Unpublished Correspondences in the Dorset County Museum’ at the Arts and Humanities Research Council sponsored (AHRC) Workshop on ‘Institutions of Literature’ at the University of York, UK, in December, 2017. She was a Post Doctoral UGC Associate at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla in 2016, 2018 and 2019. Apart from a number of notable, and often-cited, essays on Hardy in International journals, she has three edited volumes to her credit: Protean Images: A Study of Womanhood in Victorian Society and Literature (2017) and An Enigma Called Emily: Reassessing Emily Bronte at 200 (2019) and Visitation, Deception and Contestation: Interrogating Gender and the Supernatural in Victorian Shorter Fiction (2021). She has just been awarded a fellowship at the University of Surrey for 2022-2023. For more information on Oindrila's work, check out the links and details below:https://dhwu.academia.edu/oindrilaghoshCheck out Oindrila's latest publication:Vision, Contestation and Deception Interrogating Gender and the Supernatural in Victorian Shorter Fiction)Episode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Éadaoin Agnew, where we discuss her research into Victorian writers of colour (particularly within India, featuring writers who published in English). We discuss the need for decolonising the curriculum in all areas of the academy, how literary studies is still Western-centric, and how institutional barriers like educational policy problematise efforts to address colonial histories.About my guest: Éadaoin is a Senior Lecturer and the Course Leader for English Literature at Kingston University. She specialises in the Victorian period, and has a particular interest in the literature of the British empire. In both her teaching and research, she assumes a transnational and global approach to the nineteenth-century, although my research focuses largely on the Indian subcontinent. She has produced a scholarly edition of two early nineteenth-century travel texts and is currently working on transnational anti-colonial discourses in fin-de-siècle India. She is also developing a pedagogical project to decolonise the Victorians., the link to the survey is below (Victorian Diversities Research Network) For more information on Éadaoin's work, check out the links and details below:https://www.kingston.ac.uk/staff/profile/dr-eacuteadaoin-agnew-580/surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8JZCK25 - survey for the Victorian Diversities Research NetworkTwitter: @EadaoinAgnewCheck out Éadaoin's suggestions:Swami Vivekananda - Raja YogaEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

Episode 16 - Dr Nicole C Dittmer and Sophie Raine - Penny Dreadfuls and the Gothic In this episode I'm joined by Nicole and Sophie, who have a forthcoming collection called Penny Dreadfuls and the Gothic; or, Investigations of Pernicious Tales of Terror. We chat about how their individual interests in the Gothic emerged, how they came to work together on their collection, and some tidbits about what we'll read! They also provide fantastic examples of things to watch or read, both modern and 19th century. We also chat about what they think about the enduring fascination with the 19th century.

In this episode I'm joined by Nat Reeve, who is not only keeping busy with a PhD on Elizabeth Siddal, but is a Neo-Victorian novelist! We talk about their debut novel Nettleblack, the first of two novels with Cipher Press. Both books follow the adventures of fictional queer Victorians in an eccentric rural setting. We discuss how the novels came about, and the importance of having queer voices represented in Neo-Victorian works (and supported by queer friendly publishers)About my guest: Nat Reeve is a novelist and PhD candidate at Royal Holloway, University of London, queer reading the unruly landscapes, medieval objects and spectral beings in Elizabeth Siddal’s art and poetry. Their debut novel Nettleblack – a queer neo-Victorian adventure following a runaway heiress and a chaotic group of detectives – will be published by Cipher Press this June, with its sequel following in 2023. They have forthcoming essays in the journal Word & Image and the Pre-Raphaelite Sisters edited collection about Elizabeth Siddal’s queering of medieval iconography.. For more information on Nat's work, check out the links and details below:Nettleblack: https://www.cipherpress.co.uk/shop/nettleblackCheck out Nat's suggestions:Mikchelle Paver - WakenhyrstAmy Dillwyn's works (especially The Rebecca Rioter, Jill, and The Burglary)Episode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Laure Nermel, who is finishing her PhD on Elizabeth Siddal,. We discuss how the Pre-Raphaelites are portrayed in Neo-Victorian fiction (novels, but also TV shows and plays), especially the women who were connected to the movement. We discuss the value of Siddal's work in her own right (not just as a model but as an artist and writer herself).About my guest: After a B.A in English literature at the Sorbonne, Laure went to Cape Town for a study exchange programme as a French tutor. Her Master’s dissertation focussed on Victorian visual arts, which enabled her to publish an article in the Journal des Arts about fairy painting. She completed her education in Museum Studies at the University of Westminster, by participating in several projects at the Musée d’Orsay, the V&A, Tate and the Museum of London. She is now a licensed tour guide specialised in 19th century culture, museum displays and gender issues. Her PhD is on the creative agency of Pre-Raphaelite artist and poet Elizabeth Siddal at Lille University. In 2021, she contributed to the writing of the book Pre-Raphaelite Sisters (Peter Lang) and to the issue of the online journal GLAD! dedicated to networks and communities of women artists.Check out Laure's suggestions:Elizabeth Siddal's poetry (2018 edition has 15 full poems, fragments and essays)Elizabeth Siddal - the playJoanne Harris - Sleep, Pale SisterEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com

In this episode I'm joined by Duncan McNulty, founder and provost of the Bartitsu and Antagonistics Forum (BAF) . We discuss how Bartitsu was founded by Barton Wright in the 19th century, how it is presented now within the BAF and other organisations. We consider how the 19th century is still relevant, within pursuits like Bartistu and within steampunk. We discuss the nostalgic element, and how English ideas of colonialism and importance is so ingrained in the English consciousness now. We also reminisce about Duncan's time-travelling wedding! About my guest: Duncan currently runs the Bartitsu & Antagonsitics Forum as well as leading the instruction at the weekly classes. He has the title Provost to denote organisational responsibilities rather than qualifications, he has always claimed to be a first among equals rather than a traditional instructor. Coordinating the efforts of the scholars so that the study group as a whole can continue to learn and advance. Whilst Duncan trained in sports fencing and archery during childhood and through University, his unarmed martial studies began in 2001. Training in Lau Gar Kung Fu and Kick-boxing in Dundee before moving to Newcastle and switching to Seven Star Praying Mantis Kung Fu and Qi Gong. Believing that Europe’s own martial history was being overlooked he decided to leave Eastern martial arts; turning instead to study Italian Rapier and English infantry sabre.During a weekend symposium Duncan got his first taste of Bartitsu and became hooked. Reading all he could get his hands on and getting anyone to who was willing and able to teach him, he developed a solid grounding in the martial art. In 2012 he gathered a group of like minded individuals together to set up a Bartitsu study group and so the Bartitsu & Antagonistics Forum was born.For more information on Duncan's work with the BAF, check out the links below:About Bartitsu - https://bartitsu.wordpress.com/about-bartitsu/ About Angatonistics - https://bartitsu.wordpress.com/antagonistics/ About Duncan - https://bartitsu.wordpress.com/provost-duncan-mcnulty/The Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BartitsuAntagonisticsForumCheck out Duncan's suggestions:Robert Louis Stevenson - Curious Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Professor Yukio Tani - The Art of Ju-Jitsu Alfred Hutton - The Sword and the Centuries or Old Sword Days and Old Sword WaysFranz Anton Mesmer - The Discovery of Animal MagnetismEpisode Credits:Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma CatanMusic: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSoundCheck us out at the following social media pages and websites!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorianlegaciespodcastTwitter: @victorianlegac1Instagram: @victorianlegaciespodcastWebsite: https://emmacatan.wordpress.com/victorian-legacies-podcast/Email: victorianlegacies@gmail.com