Episode 18: The Ripper Victims: Out of the Depths I Cry to You

10/18/18 • 70 min

Although these five women - Mary Ann, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Jane - probably never met each other, they had some things in common, including grinding poverty, casual prostitution, the year of their murders, and the likely-hood that they were killed by the same person. The first "celebrity" serial killer, the Jack the Ripper became so famous that his victims' tragic lives have always been overshadowed by "Jack" himself. In this episode, I throw some light on their backgrounds and the desperate lives they lived. Warning: I try not to be too explicit with the murder scenes, but listeners may find some content upsetting. Opening music by Stefan Kartenburg, featuring Dimitri Artmenko on strings, and it's from dig.ccMixter. All other music used in the show is from copyright free music sites.

Photo of Annie and John Chapman, c.1869 (Chapman family/Neal Shelden)

Photo of Annie and John Chapman, c.1869 (Chapman family/Neal Shelden)

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Episode 17: Evelyn Dove

Evelyn Dove was Britain's first black show business star. She was a true pioneer - she was the first black woman to sing on BBC radio, and the first black singer to move from Britain to make a splash in America. After the second world war, she had her own music series on British television, and was one of the most well loved personalities in what was a new and exciting medium in the world of entertainment. In a career lasting five decades, Evelyn Dove embraced the worlds of jazz, musical theatre and cabaret, refusing to be constrained by her colour or class, but her career was one of highs and lows...

Opening music by Stefan Kartenburg, featuring Dimitri Artmenko on strings, and it's from dig.ccMixter. All other music used in the show is from copyright free music sites.

See our gallusgirlsandwaywardwomen.weebly.com site for show notes and sources.

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Episode 19: Jane Seymour - Entirely Beloved

Jane has always been portrayed as a meek and watery woman, the exact opposite of her predecessor Anne Boleyn, and whose only effect on the turbulent world in which she lived was to provide Henry VIII with the son he desired, then quietly fade away into the shadows. Saying that, we'll never know for sure whether Jane sought the king’s favour or was a pawn of her family and the king’s desire, and although she is given little credit for anything other than her provision of England’s heir, Jane Seymour was said to be intelligent and came from a noble and ambitious family. Being the daughter of a courtier, just like Anne Boleyn, she was as aspirational as the rest of them and the power and influence which could be had as the wife of King Henry would have been highly attractive to her. Not much evidence survives which describes her true personality though - was she an innocent pawn, or a secret schemer?

Opening music by Stefan Kartenburg, featuring Dimitri Artmenko on strings, and it's from dig.ccMixter. All other music used in the show is from copyright free music sites.