Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley is back with a new series of Lady on Trial, where courtroom drama meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to meet women hauled before the courts for crimes ranging from murder, adultery, and bigamy, to the shocking offense of not knowing their place.In this episode Lucy is investigating suffragette Annie Kenney. Born in 1879 near Oldham into a large, working-class weaving family, Annie works in a mill from a young age. But everything changes when she hears Christabel Pankhurst speak for votes for women in 1905. She quickly becomes involved in the campaign, giving rousing speeches and encouraging women to smash windows. Constantly in and out of prison, Annie endures hunger strike and is one of the first women released under the infamous Cat and Mouse Act.With Lucy to explore Annie Kenney’s story is barrister Jennifer Robinson, author of Silenced Women: Why the Law Fails Women and How to Fight Back. Jennifer gives us insight into how Annie’s actions might be interpreted today, and how they have directly impacted current protest laws. Lucy is also joined by historian and author Dr Lyndsey Jenkins, who wrote a book on Annie Kenney, Sisters and Sisterhood: The Kenney Family, Class and Suffrage. Lucy wants to know how effective the suffragette movement was in gaining women the vote. What did militancy achieve? And in today’s tumultuous landscape, is our right to vote more fragile than we think? Producer: Hannah Fisher Readers: Clare Corbett, Jonathan Keeble and Ruth Sillers Historical consultant: Dr Lyndsey Jenkins Head of Production: Claire Myers Sound design: Chris Maclean Senior producer: Julia Hayball Executive producer: Kirsty HunterA StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.

Lucy Worsley presents a brand new series – Lady on Trial, where courtroom drama meets history with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives explore the lives of women involved in some of history’s most famous – and infamous – legal battles. Women who face the law head-on and don't always play by its rules. This time, Lucy is joined by the Baroness Hale of Richmond, first female president of the UK Supreme Court, to uncover the extraordinary story of Caroline Norton – a celebrated writer and socialite, accused of adultery with the British Prime Minister in a scandalous ‘Criminal Conversation’ trial in 1836. The courtroom is packed to the rafters, her private life scrutinised in excruciating detail, but Caroline cannot attend, give evidence or fight her corner.Socially ostracised and denied the right to see her three sons for years on end, Caroline channels her personal experience of injustice into a remarkable campaign to change the law on the custody of children. Her fearless activism also contributes to the dismantling of coverture, the common law doctrine that meant women had no legal existence of their own after marriage. They were completely subsumed or ‘covered’ by their husbands’. Lucy and Lady Hale look at family law today, thinking about what has changed and what could still be improved, especially for children when a relationship breaks down. Caroline Norton never calls herself a feminist, and they reflect on why that might be and the true meaning of feminism in the present day. Professor Rosalind Crone from The Open University sets Caroline’s case within the wider context of married life in 19th century Britain and explains how women used their ingenuity to beat the system wherever possible. Producer: Sarah Goodman Readers: Clare Corbett, William Hope, Jonathan Keeble and Ruth Sillers Historical consultant: Professor Rosalind Crone Head of Production: Claire Myers Sound design: Chris Maclean Senior Producer: Julia Hayball Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

Lucy Worsley returns to cover more cases of murder and intrigue in a brand new series of Lady Killers. Coming soon, first on BBC Sounds.

Lucy Worsley is back with another episode of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this episode, Lucy is delving into the life of Elizabeth Manning, a daring Lady Swindler known as a hocusser, who spikes men’s drinks and empties their pockets in Victorian London. Most men she hocusses are too embarrassed to report the crime - but when will Elizabeth’s luck run out?With Lucy to explore Elizabeth Manning’s story is the barrister Nneka Akudolu KC who shares her experience of prosecuting spiking cases today.Lucy is also joined by historian Rosalind Crone, Professor of History at the Open University. Lucy and Ros visit the site of the lodgings where Elizabeth hocussed at least one of her victims, and Brixton Prison, the destination of many women who were trying and failing to make a living in Victorian London. Lucy wants to know how Elizabeth Manning went about hocussing her victims. How common was this crime in Victorian England? And what can Elizabeth’s story tell us about spiking today?Producer: Jane Greenwood Readers: Clare Corbett, Jonathan Keeble and Alex Phelps Sound design: Chris Maclean Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.

Lucy Worsley returns with her new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history, with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to meet women who stepped outside of their ordinary lives to do extraordinary things. Together they investigate what their lives and crimes tell us about women in the past, and ask how different is it for women today? In this episode Lucy travels to New York to uncover the story of spirit mediums Maggie, Kate and Leah Fox. The sisters are credited with igniting the nineteenth-century Spiritualist movement, which claims that the living can contact and communicate with the dead. The craze for séances crosses class divides and Spiritualism garners millions of followers across the globe, including First Lady Mary Lincoln, Arthur Conan Doyle, and even Queen Victoria.However, throughout their forty-year career as mediums the sisters face persistent accusations of fraud. To tease apart fact from fiction Lucy is joined by Dr Thema Bryant, past president of the American Psychological Association. A Professor in Psychology at Pepperdine University who specialises in the intersection of spirituality and psychology, Thema brings a modern lens to help understand the minds of the past. We visit the small hamlet where the mysterious occurrences first begin; the Fox property in snowy Hydesville, Upper New York State. Here Tracy Murphy, Director of Historic Palymra, recounts the moment when the young Fox sisters first encounter the mysterious ‘raps’ they convince others are signs from the spirit world. With Fox sisters expert and author Barbara Weisberg, Lucy and Thema examine how the sisters take the world by storm. They ask whether they are really audacious swindlers or the genuine founders of a spiritual movement? Producer: Emily Hughes Readers: Clare Corbett, Jonathan Keeble and Alex Phelps Sound design: Chris Maclean Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.

Lucy Worsley returns with another episode of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Joined by historian Ros Crone and comedian, activist and author Deborah Frances-White, Lucy revisits the stories of women who defied societal norms through audacious crimes.They also discuss what their own swindler names would be.This episode focuses on Celia Cooney, the Bobbed Haired Bandit of 1920s New York; Mary Bateman, the Yorkshire Witch, whose supernatural scams turned deadly; Catharine Murphy, the Money Maker, a counterfeiter working from her kitchen table; and Annie Gordon Baillie, a serial swindler with more than 40 false names.Through their stories, Lucy, Rosalind and Deborah explore themes of inequality, gendered justice, and the fine line between boldness and desperation while reflecting on how societal constraints push these women to extremes. Historian Ros Crone provides historical context on the harsh realities they face, from public dissections to burning at the stake.The conversation also explores modern issues like the erosion of empathy in polarised debates and the lingering gaps in women’s healthcare. In this episode Lucy asks what drives women to break the rules - and what can their stories teach us about our life today?Producer: Riham Moussa Readers: Clare Corbett, Laurel Lefkow, Jonathan Keeble, Alex Phelps Singer: Olivia Bloore Historical Consultant: Rosalind Crone Executive Producer: Kirsty HunterA StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.

Lucy Worsley is back with a brand new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men.In this episode Lucy is exploring the life of Catharine Murphy, a single mother of three children who has a small business making counterfeit coins on her kitchen table in 1780s London. But counterfeiting money is treated by the law as treason, and for women at this time the punishment for treason is death by burning at the stake.With Lucy to explore Catharine Murphy’s story is the broadcaster, novelist and co-host of The Rest is Money podcast Steph McGovern, who shares with Lucy her insights into the relationship women have with money and risk today.Lucy is also joined by historian Rosalind Crone, Professor of History at the Open University. Lucy and Ros visit the former Royal Mint inside the walls of the Tower of London to look at counterfeit coins, and the site of Newgate Prison, where women condemned to death for treason suffered horrific executions.Lucy wants to know: what made women coiners like Catharine risk an agonising death? To what extent was currency fraud a female crime then, and how much is it a female crime today? And should women with children be treated differently to other offenders by the justice system?Producer: Jane Greenwood Readers: Clare Corbett and Jonathan Keeble Singer: Olivia Bloore Sound design: Chris Maclean Executive producer: Kirsty HunterA StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

Lucy Worsley is back with a brand new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this first episode, Lucy is investigating the life of Mary Bateman who is living in Leeds in the first decade of the 19th century - a time when, despite huge leaps forward in science, many people still believe in the power of the supernatural. Mary is working as a ‘wise woman’ selling magic charms and potions, and showing off her prophetic chicken. But, as Lucy discovers, there’s a very dark side to Mary’s business too. With Lucy to explore Mary Bateman’s story is the writer and broadcaster Deborah Hyde, known to millions as one of the sceptical voices on the hit BBC podcast about the supernatural, Uncanny. Lucy is also joined by historian Rosalind Crone, Professor of History at the Open University. Lucy and Ros visit the part of Leeds where Mary lived and worked among a rapidly expanding population, and York Castle Prison where Mary’s story ends. Lucy wants to know if Mary Bateman believe she has special powers to heal and defeat the powers of evil - or if she's just a ruthless swindler. And what can Mary’s story tell us about women and belief in the supernatural today?Producer: Jane Greenwood Readers: Clare Corbett and Jonathan Keeble Sound design: Chris Maclean Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.