Natation of the Naiads

11/22/22 • 18 min

In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Barbara North looks at the colorful world of competitive and performative swimming ladies in the Victorian era.

When we think about 1800s London, "ladies swimwear" is not typically the first thing that comes to mind. What if we told you it was such a hot topic it was brought up for discussion in the House of Lords? Call them naiads, mermaids, teachers, or scandals - the lady swimmers of Victorian England were in the water.

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In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Barbara North looks at the colorful world of competitive and performative swimming ladies in the Victorian era.

For more about Odd Salon visit oddsalon.com
Join us as a Member or on Patreon
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Previous Episode

Audubon's Anomalous Animals

In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Stuart Gripman shares the true story of the scientifically undignified pranks of one of America’s greatest ornithologists, driven to his wits’ end by an unruly rival.

In 1818, a not-yet famous John James Audubon was visited by a brilliant yet egotistical and sometimes churlish naturalist named Constantine Rafinesque. What started with an amiable conversation devolved into an ordeal as Rafinesque turned out to be a persistent, even destructive, house guest. The motivations for what Audubon did next are up for debate, but there's no question that he illustrated an array of fanciful creatures and presented them to Rafinesque as genuine. Even though his victim seemed to fall for the prank, Audubon's folly came at a price.

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Next Episode

Sword Slinging and Opera Singing

In this episode, opera singer Marisa Lenhardt looks into the history and legacy of one of opera’s most audacious singers, who counterbalanced her stage time with sword fighting.

A sword-fighting bisexual opera singer who set fire to a convent to get her lover out? [yawn] But she could SING. King Louis XIV and Paris Opera thought so, and the first non-Soprano role in French opera was written for her. Her about her exploits, her sword fights, her royal pardons and, far more interestingly, her vocal journey.

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The Odd Salon Podcast - Natation of the Naiads

Transcript

The crowd on the shore at Hastings, England emitted a roar of excitement as the contestants emerged. Having split the best of three contests one and one so far, this final race was the deciding factor: the victor took the spoils. The contestants shed their outer coats and, one tall and wearing blue, the other short and dressed in pink, the athletes took their marks to begin the contest.

Over twelve hundred people gathered on September 22nd 1879 to witness a competition of physical prowe