Shownotes Season One Wrap-Up
When we started this project we decided that a season would consist of ten full- length episodes, posted approximately two weeks apart, with an option of unlimited mini episodes to allow for spontaneity. We also decided that we would end the season with a series near and dear to our hearts. We thought this would give us some structure, and a goal, as well as the freedom to deviate if we wanted to chat a little bit about someone- or something- related to the subject of the full episode.
We had a plan. And, for the most part, we stuck to it. Marie Antoinette, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Cinderella Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Lizzie Borden, Helen Keller, The Mrs. Astor, Gilded Age Heiresses and Jennie Jerome Churchill. We supplemented those episodes with mini-conversations: Abigail Adams and Feminism, Books in the Little House Series, Little Red Riding Hood, Anne Sullivan Macy, The Age of Innocence movie, and Gilded Age Servants.
And we have big plans for next season as well. Oh yes, we do! But we will be taking a short break from posting full length episodes so we can get ready for that season. And have some summer fun with our families that does not include midnight editing and writing sessions, child care juggling to ensure quiet while recording, and rushing to bring back long overdue library books.
But, just as we had a plan for Season One, we have a plan for this hiatus and you will barely know we are gone. We will be putting out some postcard type entries when we stumble across (on purpose) things we know you might like. And we will be monitoring both our website, facebook page, google+ and twitter (although, we admit, we are not the best tweeters out there. We’ll own that and work on it).
This episode is a question and answer grab bag. We posted a call for questions which we answer in this episode, as well as some odds and ends we thought would be fun. We tell you a bit about National Novel Writing Month, about how we met, how we worked, and some other questions that listeners asked us. First off here is the link to NaNoWriMo- http://www.nanowrimo.org/. (Which has nothing to do with history except our own.)
Here is our solemn vow ( in print!): When we hit 1000 likes on facebook we will have a Tudors series.
Listen to the podcast for more info…but we know how much you like your visuals. And we get asked this question A LOT:
What do you look like?
Can’t we show you where we record instead, it’s so much more interesting…
This is where we sit when we talk. It might explain a lot.
Ok…we snapped some pics and this is our favorite image of us. Totally shows you who we are and what we look like:
Beckett wore cute shoes that day, Susan went for comfort. Actually, Beckett always wears cute shoes and Susan always goes for comfort. And we have the same size feet. True.
Oh! You want to know what our FACES look like! Got it…
Susan- action shot.
Yeah, we could do this all day.
Thank you for your encouragement,and emails and notes to us! Thank you for telling us who you would like to hear us discuss, and thank you for telling us where you listen to us. Thank you for clicking our stylish DONATE button, and for writing such wonderful reviews for us on iTunes. Thank you for listening! We are having a wonderful time and are very excited to come back to you very soon with Season Two!
Peace!
Beckett and Susan
I should have used my "fairy pixie" shot. Maybe next season... Beckett
You could have just googled to see this. Susan
The Age of Innocence:Vintage Movie Discussion
Yes, we are calling 1993 “vintage”. It’s based on the shoe scale, if you would purchase a pair of shoes from this year and call them ” vintage”, then we can use it for a movie from the same year.
From The History Chicks Dictionary: Vintage- Completely subjective word to describe anything that is too old to be new, but a real prize for someone. Maybe not you. Maybe not us. But someone will love it!
The discussion: The Age of Innocence, 1993 ,directed by Martin Scorsese starring Daniel Day Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder is based on the Pulitzer prize winning novel by Edith Wharton. Since we are mid- Gilded Age series, what a great time to talk about this movie!
Topic for this discussion
We talk about this...
...and this....hubba hubba...
...and Susan loves to talk about this....
(Here is the link for more information about the language of flowers:
http://home.comcast.net/~bryant.katherine/flowers.html )
- …and a few choice words about this….
- And finally we talk about what happened here…good or bad? Wise or foolish?
Of course there is more, and yes, the conversation is historically based- not just a review of an older, er, vintage flick by two vintage chicks.
As always, music for our podcast comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at music.mevio.com.
Episode 8 “The Mrs. Astor”
Caroline, who was often called Lina, was born in September 22, 1830 to a very prominent wealthy family. She was the youngest of 10 children, and very much the family pet.
Her father Abraham was not only well thought of in New York business, but he and his wife, Helen White Schermerhorn, were established in high society when Lina was born.
Caroline was, naturally, raised in that New York society. She enjoyed the life a life of privilege- doted on by nannies, servants, and tutors. We talk about her early life, and what proper bred young ladies learned, and their lives in New York, and Paris. And how academics took a backseat…waaay in the back.
Can’t talk about Caroline without a chat about the Gilded Age! The rapid economic and population growth had creation of a whole lot of social conflict. This period of time is called the Gilded Age because it looks golden, but looks are deceiving. Mark Twain and his co-writer Charles Dudley Warner, get credit for labeling the period in his book: The Gilded Age, a Tale of Today.
(Click here for more fabulous shownotes!)
Shownotes: Annie Sullivan Macy Minicast
Have you listened to the podcast on Helen Keller? We strongly recommend that you do before diving into the life of the woman we discuss in this minicast, it will make the experience just a little richer. Go ahead, we’ll wait.
While doing research for the Helen Keller podcast, we both gained an admiration for Anne Sullivan Macy and thought she deserved a little spotlight time all her own. Of course, much of her story is intertwined with that of Helen, but she was a strong, smart, brave woman who lived a life previously uncharted. She busted through barrier after barrier to create a life story worth repeating.
Born in 1866 in Feeding Hills, MA, as life dealing goes—Anne was not given a winning hand: her parents were extremely poor Irish immigrants who chose to leave the support systems in bigger cities like Boston and settle in rural New England. Her father was an alcoholic who could not hold a job, and her mother would eventually die of tuberculosis when Anne was only nine years old. Her parents had five children, although only two of them would live to adulthood.
When Anne was seven she contracted trachoma which went untreated. Had she been emigrating to the US, she would have been turned back to Ireland for this bacterial infection of her eyes—instead she lost her most of her vision.
Once her mother died, her younger sister Mary was sent to live with relatives. We read, and must believe, that Anne never saw her again. Her father was unable to care for Anne and her brother, Jimmy, so they were sent to the Tewkesbury Almshouse within a year of her mother’s death. Just hearing the grim realities of this institution would make most of us weak in the knees, but she really had a “it is what it is” attitude about it.
Sadly, her brother, who had a tubercular hip, died within a few months of entering the Almshouse. Anne was alone.
Shownotes Episode 6: Lizzie Borden
Sweet, Victorian, Spinster Lizzie Borden
Upper middle class Victorian New England: Polite conversations, genteel ladies, dapper gentlemen, beautiful architecture, and a 32 year old spinster taking a hatchet to her parents. Or did she? The woman that we discuss in this episode was propelled into the center of a media frenzy and controversy solely based on the events of one hot summer day in 1892. And the speculation continues to fascinate 120 year later!
The life of Lizzie Andrew Borden was quite unremarkable. Born to Andrew Jackson Borden and Sarah Morse Borden July 19th, 1860 in Fall River Massachusetts, Lizzie was the youngest of their children. Emma, who was nine years older, and Alice, who had died at age three. When Lizzie was three, Sarah died as well, leaving 12 year old Emma to be the woman in the family.
Two years after Sarah’s death, however, Andrew remarried Abby Durfee Gray. Abby, who was 37 at the time, gave up her own spinster lifestyle to become the step mother to Andrew’s daughters. However this relationship never developed into a warm and fuzzy mommy/daughter/daughter trio. Actually, the dynamics of the entire Borden clan, well, let’s just leave it as, “a certain level of dysfunction”.
Andrew Borden and his everpresent black suit
Abby Borden, wife, step-mother, victim
We do go into some detail on the podcast, not only about the family dynamics, but the players and the events in this Whodunit. Andrew is quite a penny pincher- not even investing in indoor plumbing; Abby is not liked by her step-daughters; how they all got along- or didn’t-and how they spent their days. (We also add in some some nifty deets about Victorian life in general.) There is A LOT written about this case, we talk about what we think is key, but who knows what is really important?
Well, this is: On the morning of August 4th, 1892 someone killed Abby Borden in the guest room with 18-19 hatchet or axe chops. One to two hours later, someone did a similar hatchet-job on Andrew Borden as he rested on the sofa downstairs, with another 10 or 11 whacks.
So the ditty is wrong. You know the one: ”Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother 40 whacks, when she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41.”
Wasn’t her mother, it was her step mother.
Was it an axe?
Wasn’t 81 total, but closer to 28.
Did Lizzie do it?
We give you some common speculation about the initial suspects and general oddities immediatly following the murders, but Lizzie was arrested in short time.There was plenty of circumstantial evidence building a case against her, and she was held until trial.
What evidence you ask? Seriously? Come on, you know we like to get you so excited about someone that you want to look into it on your own. We do spell out some of it in the podcast—but this case hasn’t lived on this long because just a tiny amount of evidence clearly points to one person. It has lived on because of the things NOT known, as well as the things known that don’t add up. The fun part is playing detective yourself. We can’t deny you that thrill.
But, if not Lizzie, then who? And why?
Was it Lizzie who somehow managed to wield a heavy axe so accurately?
Was it Emma Borden, Lizzy’s sister, because she was denied love?
Was it Uncle John Morse, who was staying with them at the time?
Was it Bridget”Don’t call me Maggie” Sullivan,pissed off ‘cuz she had to clean windows when she was sick and it was a bajillion degrees?
Was it a mysterious and unidentified man seen lurking about before the murders?
Within a year of the murders, Lizzie Borden was on trial for them. The trial began June 5th,1893, and Lizzie never took the stand. On June 20th, after a mere one and half hour deliberation, Lizzie Borden is found not guilty of the murders.
Lizzie chose to stay in Fall River despite her notoriety. She and her sister, Emma, purchased a home fitting their station in life- with indoor plumbing!- and named it Maplecroft. Lizzie, now in control of her own inherited wealth and going by the name Lizbeth, has several rumored affairs, and is often linked romantically to an actress named Nance O’Neil.
Maplecroft, home to Emma and Lizzie after the murders
Beautiful Nance O’Neil
Twelve years after purchasing Maplecroft, Emma moves out –seems she did not agree with the lifestyle choices her sister was making. 22 years after that, the estranged sisters die within days of each other. Lizzie- then 66- dies of pneumonia. Emma of nephritis. Both are buried in the family plot in a Fall River cemetery.
Marker at Lizzie Borden’s grave
Even Lizzies funeral was odd: she had written out her final wishes which included using the name “Lizbeth” on her headstone, and inviting certain people to the funeral and when they arrived, they were told it was held the day before. Way to go out with some drama, Lizzie!
For a quiet, Sunday school teaching, pear picking, Victorian spinster, Lizzie Borden left quite a legacy of mystery in her wake. The hoopla surrounding this case is often likened to the OJ Simpson trial. Let’s just see if there are hobby investigators talking about that case in 120 years.
Time Travel With The History Chicks
Ok…*cracks knuckles* THIS is where things get fun!
First off, you could plan a trip to Fall River, MA and stay in the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast and Museum. The Borden home, where the murders occurred, is a Bed and Breakfast now. Even if you can’t make the trip to southeastern Massachusetts, go to the website. There is A LOT to see including some pretty nifty video reenactments. If you are into the macabre- we aren’t but hey, this is your thing now-this is also a good place to start down that spooky path.
http://www.lizzie-borden.com/
To immerse yourself in all things Lizzie, click on over to the Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum & Library. Read through the history- all the details of the investigation, check out the photo gallery, investigate the paranormal aspects, and when you are good and creeped out, find Harry’s Morphs and watch Lizzie become Marilyn Monroe.
http://www.lizzieandrewborden.com/LizzieABorden.htm
Want more? By far, the most detailed blog we could find that revolves around this case is Lizzie Borden: Warps &Wefts. ALL kinds of interesting facts and pictures about Lizzie, her family, her life, Victoriana and other oddities —even a link to The Virtual Toilet Paper Museum-this wild, wacky web sure has some cool stuff!
http://lizziebordenwarpsandwefts.com/
There is a magazine, The Hatchet, which deals with issues surrounding this case. It appears that the last issue was published a couple of years ago, but lurking around a messageboard we found that they may be firing up the presses again. Even if not, you can get lots of nifty intel from this site:
http://www.hatchetonline.com/HatchetOnline/
If you just want to hang out with a bunch of other people who celebrate Victoriana, Fall River and all things Lizzie, click on over to the Lizzie Borden Society Forums. For a group of people who have been debating details of a 120 year-old murder for quite some time, we must say that this is one of THE MOST polite messageboards we chicks have ever seen. Don’t make us come hurt you for not playing nice with them!
http://lizzieandrewborden.com/LBForum/index.php
Like books? There is a new one coming out soon, we have NOT read it, but if the Fall River Historical Society is pimping it, that’s good enough recommendation for us. Parallel Lives: a Social History of Lizzie Borden and her Fall River, by Michael Martins, and Dennis A. Binnette.
Beckett recommended the most awesome graphic novel – the one with illustrations that remind us of Ripley’s Believe It or Not: The Borden Tragedy: A Memoir of the Infamous Double Murder at Fall River, Mass., 1892 by Rick Geary: (There are both floor plans and street maps in this one!)
http://www.amazon.com/Borden-Tragedy-Infamous-Treasury-Victorian/dp/1561631892
Movies you ask? There was a 1975 version The Legend of Lizzie Borden with Elizabeth Montgomery. We did not make it through the whole movie (what? We have other jobs you know!) but you can watch it online here, here via the Mondo Lizzie Borden blog.
http://lizzieandrewborden.com/MondoLizzie/2010/08/watch-the-legend-of-lizzie-borden-online/
Our plan of action? We are kinda giddy to watch the upcoming HBO movie about Lizzie Borden starring Chloe Sevigny. It’s only in preproduction, but we love us some Big Love…and this actress has the kinda creepy eye thing going on already…she’s gonna rock it!
There you have it: How one day changed an unremarkable Victorian spinster’s life into a legacy of legend, controversy, intrigue and mystery.
As always, music for our podcast comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at music.mevio.com.
