Transcript
Professor Susannah Lipscomb (0:01)
Want to walk the halls of Anne Boleyn's childhood home or explore the castles that made up Henry VIII's English stronghold? With a subscription to History Hit, you can dive into our Tudor past alongside the world's leading historians and archaeologists. You'll also unlock hundreds of hours of original documentaries with a brand new release every single week covering everything from the ancient world to to World War II. Just visit historyhit.com subscribe.
Progressive Insurance Announcer (0:35)
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.
History Hit Promo Announcer (0:55)
Close your eyes.
Progressive Insurance Announcer (0:56)
Listen to Monday.com feel the sensation of an AI work platform so flexible and intuitive it feels like it was built just for you. Now open your eyes, go to Monday.com, start for free, and finally breathe.
Vrbo Promo Announcer (1:09)
Get a jump on next summer with vrbo's Early Booking Deals don't wait to claim your dream summer spot, whether that includes a good porch swing or a poolside lounger. When you book early, you get the best places at the best prices. But back to poolside loungers. With vrbo, you don't have to reserve any loungers. They're all yours. In fact, the whole private home is yours. Book with early booking deals and you can lounge around all summer long. However you please. Book with vrbo.
Professor Susannah Lipscomb (1:44)
Hello, I'm Professor Susannah Lipscomb and welcome to Not Just the Tudors From History Hit, the podcast in which we explore everything from Anne Boleyn to to the Aztecs, from Holbein to the Huguenots, from Shakespeare to samurais, relieved by regular doses of murder, espionage and witchcraft. Not in other words, just the Tudors, but most definitely also the Tudors. In a crowded London street in 1762, a ghost began to speak. Not in words exactly, but in knocks. Sharp, deliberate and terrifyingly precise. Within days, the small house in Cock Lane, Smithfield, was filled with clergymen, sceptics and the simply curious, all straining to hear messages they believed to be communications from the restless spirit of a murdered woman, Fanny Lyons. It was a spectacle that perhaps surprisingly grip London in the time of the Enlightenment, because this was an age we often associate with reason, science and progress. But it was also one that was equally captivated by hoaxes, imposters and elaborate deceptions. In this episode, I'm delighted to say that we're joined by our friend Madeline Pelling co host of our sister history hit podcast After Dark. In her new book, Hoax, Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment, Maddie has uncovered a cast of extraordinary figures who didn't just trick society, but exposed its deepest anxieties. There's Mary Bateman, the so called Yorkshire witch who turned fear, superstition and desperation into a deadly business, manipulating those around her until her crimes drew the full force of the law. And then there's Princess Caribou, a mysterious woman who arrived in Bristol speaking, speaking an inventive language, performing an entirely fabricated identity so convincingly that she persuaded polite society that she was foreign royalty. What connects these stories is not just deception, but complicity. These hoaxes worked because people wanted to believe them. They thrived in a culture shaped by a rapidly expanding press, by social upheaval, and by a growing appetite for spectacle. Together, these tales reveal an enlightenment that was far less rational than we might imagine. A world where reason and credulity coexisted and where the performance of truth could be just as powerful as truth itself. I'm Professor Susannah Lipscomb, and this is not just the Tudors from history hit. Maddie, what an absolute joy to welcome you to not just the Tudors.
