In this episode, DLS co-founder Florian Duijsens introduces us to Dame Miriam Rothschild, a British zoologist, entomologist, and botanist. Coming from a wealthy family (yes, those Rothschilds) with an active interest in nature, she started collecting ladybirds and caterpillars and taking a tame quail to bed with her at the age of four. During a stint of WWII codebreaking at Bletchley Park, she pressured the British government to take in more Jewish refugees, providing housing for 49 children in her own (stately) home. She then became a leading authority on fleas, with sidelines in other parasites, butterflies, and meadow restoration.

DLS co-host Katy Derbyshire joins producer Susan Stone to kick off the fun.

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Don’t forget we have a Patreon! This month, Florian is there telling Susan all about another Rothschild — Pannonica, Miriam’s sister, who was named for a moth, and known as the Jazz Baroness for her patronage of and friendships with musical greats including Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. You can join up for as little as $2 or 2 euros a month and enjoy our full archive of special features, and our eternal gratitude. Here’s the link!

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Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pocket Casts. You can download the transcript, created by Susan, here.

Show notes:

Kennedy Fraser’s Ornament & Silence: Essays on Women’s Lives from Edith Wharton to Germaine Greer is the book in which Florian first encountered Miriam. You can read her New Yorker story, delightfully titled “Fritillaries and Hairy Violets” in their archives.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Miriam’s home in Ashton Wold in all its glory</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Here you can see Miriam’s “floppily uncorseted” garden in the flesh!</figcaption></figure>





<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Miriam as an avid milkmaid</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This documentary about Miriam’s sister Pannonica (by Miriam’s niece) is fascinating in and of itself, but also shows how Miriam grew up.</figcaption></figure>