Episode 18: Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald’s beginnings were the most humble- born April 25, 1917 in Newport News,Virginia to William and Tempie Fitzgerald. Of course we talk about her parents, her move to New York, what life was like for a young girl at the time. We talk about her rough beginnings, her family and the fork in the road last minute decision that changed her life. We discuss her loves, losses and her slow steady and forever upward rise to super star status.
With husband, Ray Brown
First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald by, Geoffry Mark Fidelman
Ella Fitzgerald, A complete biography by Stewart Nicholson
Ella Fitzgerald: Up Close by Tanya Lee Stone
Ok, you’re right! We have to end with Ella…and Count Basie! We didn’t take your advice, and we are sorry, Ella, but we had to talk about you when you are gone!
music courtesy of Music Alley
Episode 17: Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire
You voted and we are pleased to present the first winner of our Guaranteed Content Poll- Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, The Duchess of Devonshire!
This woman wasn’t just another pretty face under a big wig with an unusual home situation… oh, no! She was an author, a mother, a fashion trend setter, and a political powerhouse that altered the landscape of British politics at a time when women should have been seen, but not heard.
If anyone knew anything about being seen- it was Georgiana.
Born in 1757 , she was the first of three children born to the love match of John and the former Margaret Georgiana Poyntz.
Georgiana was, from the get-go, Mama’s favorite. You know us by now, we go into a lot more detail on the podcast, but young Georgiana was raised in a loving home by parents who exposed her to a wide variety of subjects. A series of the finest tutors taught Little G the usual: deportment, and languages, and writing and geography and singing…but also harp , French, Italian Latin. And the lessons that our young Lady excelled in the most: etiquette. Mama was proud. And also fairly ambitious. And did we forget to mention: wealthy. Daddy would become the 1st Earl of Spencer when Little G was just a child.
Mama and her pride and joy
This family is connected.
And what other family is connected and nearby? The Cavendishes. And their first son, William, was just about the right age for our fair, well bred, charming Georgiana! And what does he bring to the table? Well, um, his dogs? Ok, so he wasn’t as polished as our Little G, but opposites attract, right?
William Cavendish the Duke of Devonshire
She marries up, and becomes the 5th Duchess of Devonshire. He gets a beautiful, graceful bride guaranteed to bring him a male heir.
Ahem… guaranteed to bring him a male heir.
Is this thing on?
Georgiana doesn’t exactly have the easiest time getting pregnant. She partakes in some pretty wacky measures to do so with no success. (And allows us to prattle on about 18th century medicine- which we really enjoy.)
Georgiana, by Thomas Gainsborough
She does use this time to throw quite a few parties, and created an environment where politics can be played. She sets some trends in fashion. And, oh yeah, she writes a book- The Sylph which is an thinly disguised autobiographical novel with the author credit given to,” a young lady”. Four editions? Everyone knew who wrote it.
How DO you ride in a carriage with all that hair? (by Matthew Darly, courtesy British Museum)
She does become a mother…although step-mother would probably be a better description…when one of William’s former mistresses dies, leaving his daughter Charlotte. Georgiana steps up to the plate and not only takes the child into her home, but into her heart.
But she is still without a male heir of her own production. Her last medicinal attempt at conception was to go to Bath and take the waters- which meant drink or bathe in the hot mineral waters of the area. Also at Bath was a woman a woman who would be a force in their home for the next 25 years: Elizabeth “Bess” Foster.
Lady Elizabeth “Bess” Foster
To put it delicately, Georgiana, William and Bess struck up a relationship for the ages. All three of them. And that’s about all we are going to say here (but gush on and on in the podcast with a little less tact).
But let’s not focus on that, it worked for them, who are we to judge? And to talk about it in detail takes away from the rest of the life of Georgiana. (psst, listen to the podcast for more details) First off she got on the baby train…girl, girl, FINALLY a boy and heir! WOOT! And because she was on a roll, she went and had a baby from an affair with Charles Grey. We tell you all about those children, how she was as a mother, and what a political mover and shaker she was.
by Joshua Reynolds (She sounds like a pretty hands on Mama!)
Really she had smarts, charm, and charisma that she used to advance the politicians that she favored.
And she also had a gambling addiction. And a laundenum addiction. And, quite possibly an eating disorder. She lived a life as big and bold as the ginormous big hair wigs she was famous for!
But all good things come to an end, after a series of medical issues Georgiana dies at the age of 48 in 1806.
Give a listen to the podcast for more juicy details about the life of this amazing woman!
Time Travel With The History Chicks
Of course we only introduce you to her awesomeness, and give you a working knowledge of her life. But you want more, right? And where can you go for that? PLEASE check out this blog, The Duchess of Devonshires Gossip Guide to the 18th Century. First off, it’s gorgeous. Second it is jam packed with stories and art from the era of this woman. We can’t say enough good things…so, go…http://georgianaduchessofdevonshire.blogspot.com/
The book that we both devoured:
By Amanda Foreman
Amanda Foreman also has a website that is full of intel: http://www.amanda-foreman.com/
And there is a movie, which is visually stunning but has some factual holes in it:
It was, um..pretty.
Yes, we know…some of you have skimmed this post looking for the name of this book by Arthur Calder-Marshall:
The Two Duchesses:The Sexual and Dynastic Intrigues of Two Bewitching Aristocrats in a Time of Unbridled Extravagance and License
And, finally, when you have absorbed everything…take a trip! Visit Althorp! http://www.althorp.com/estate
As always, music comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at www.music.mevio.com
Episode 17 Clue:
Episode 16A: Mary Shelley
It was a dark and stormy night. Three friends sat around the fire taking turns reading German ghost stories…
No, really. It was. Ok, maybe that night wasn’t stormy, but it was a summer night in 1816, when a then 18 year- old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley, and the poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron were sitting around a fire at Lake Geneva. It was here that the three challenged each other to write the scariest story they could, Mary’s contribution would become her first published work and a tale so creepy that it would endure to present time, and beyond: Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus.
Mary Shelley, by Richard Rothwell
In this mini-cast we take a little time to look at the life before, and after, Mary Shelley wrote her most famous book.
The story of Mary Shelley begins ten days before her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, dies.
How is that for a dramatic entrance?
Born on August 30th, 1797, she was the first and only love child of writers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. (For the details on this woman, please give a listen to our podcast on Mary Wollstonecraft). Her mother had a young daughter from another relationship, Fanny Imlay, who was to be raised by now single dad Godwin with his own daughter- Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin…not to be confused with his wife, Mary Wollstoncraft Godwin. (Susan puts down her head and weeps…why must you people name your children the same name as you have!?)
When Mary was four, her father remarried Mary Jane Clairmont who brought two children, Charles and Claire into the home. William was a pretty involved father, and while Claire was sent off to school, Mary was pretty much educated at home. But being educated at home by an intellectual who ran in some pretty cool circles- as well as encouraging you to read all the writings of your mother-isn’t exactly a lacking education.
By now you should know that we love to get into the more, er, gossipy side of women’s lives. And Mary Shelley gave us a bit to look at. As a young teen she meets Percy Shelley. MARRIED Percy Shelley. He falls for her while studying at the feet of her father. And helping to pay his bills. At one point, Daddy says “stay away from my daughter”, but that’s not to happen.
Pretty boy-Percy Shelley
At 17, Mary runs off with Percy, taking her step-sister Claire with them.
Oh! This is a road trip for the ages! We do go into it in detail in the podcast, but by the time a penniless Percy and Mary come back to England she is pregnant, and his wife is pregnant. Harriet Shelley gives birth to a son, and Mary gives birth to a premature daughter, who dies shortly after birth.
So sad! Right before little William's death in 1819
We do tell you all about Mary’s five pregnancies, and the one child who lives to adulthood. About the death of Percy’s wife, the marriage of Mary and Percy, and the travels of the trio of Percy, Mary and Claire and their children. We chat about the creation of Frankenstein, Lord Byron, and the death of Percy.
Lord Byron...(yeah, we don't get into THAT much detail)
This may be a mini-cast but it is full of drama! What a life this woman created and lived!
After Percy’s death, Mary’s life settles down somewhat. She is a writer, but never sees success to the likes of Frankenstein- which in our opinion- makes her quite a writer indeed.
The end of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley’s life was full of illness and living with her remaining son*sigh* Percy. She died of a brain tumor in 1851 at the age of 54.
Time Travel with The History Chicks
We admit, this was a minicast about the full life of a woman who did a lot of living in her years. Here is a great starting place to look a bit more into the life of Mary Shelley, and there are other posts about her on this site as well: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley
Just because we thought it was an interesting look at the beginnings of Frankenstein: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/sep/26/frankenstein-hour-creation-identified-astronomers
And we really liked this book:
Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality, by Emily Sunstein
Go, read Frankenstein! Read the graphic novel! Watch the movies! Enjoy! It’s a classic!
1931 with Boris Karloff
heh heh...
Episode 16: Mary Wollstonecraft
Imagine that you had ideas that were so radical for your time that it would take a couple of hundred years for them to be accepted? Can you imagine that your lifestyle would be given more attention in those years than your message? Can you imagine that your most important work was often mispronounced?
Such was the life of the woman we spoke of this week, Mary Wollstonecraft.
Born April 27th, 1759 in London, as the second of seven children to Edward and Elizabeth. Her birth station in life was one of upper middle class. However her father pretty much squandered his inheritance, and the family moved frequently. Each time they did it was a step down to a less affluent home. Dad was a drinker, and pretty abusive…it really wasn’t a warm and happy childhood.
Mary had a couple of close friends as well as some neighbors who cared for her, helped her with her education as well as providing bright spots in a pretty bleak life. Her future prospects didn’t seem very promising.
For an unmarried woman of her time and social class she took up pretty much every career that was available to her.
Lady’s Companion?
Fail.
School Teacher?
Good…for a bit.
Governess?
Not so great.
Of course we go into more detail in the podcast, but she left home at 19 to try and make a living. She supported her sister Eliza, who she helped leave a possibly abusive marriage. She tried to also hang out as long as possible with her friend, Fanny Blood- but conventional lifestyles were not really her thing and they were very much Fanny’s thing.
“I am not born to tread in the beaten track – the peculiar bent of my nature pushes me on.” Mary Wollstonecraft wrote to her other sister, the cooler named Everina.
She got that right.
Finally she ends up in London, working for a man named Joseph Johnson, a book publisher. He encourages her in her writing, and write she did. Children’s books, reviews , and her first novel – entitled Mary- a fiction, which was based on her travels to Portugal to attend the birth- and unexpected death- of Fanny Blood and her first child.
She wrote a book about what she learned as the head of a school, and as a Governess, with the lengthy title, “Education of Daughters: With Reflections on Female Conduct in the More Important Duties of Life.”
Got that?
She also established herself as a political writer with the publication of The Vindication of the Rights of Men, which was a rebuttal of piece written by Edmund Burke.
And on the heels of that document she wrote the biggie: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects. Did you catch that? ” WOMAN” Not “womEn” as is often mistaken. Even in this podcast. *coughbySusancough*
What is it about? Well, ENTIRE college level courses are devoted to this work, so we can’t sum it up here. But try this version:
-Women are only inferior due to their inferior education
-All minds are equally receptive to knowledge no matter what package they arrive in
-Women ought not to have power over men, but over THEMSELVES.
(Plus 449 more pages of important information)
While she was starting to grow in both works and audiences as a writer, her personal life was a mess.
She fell in love with artist Henry Fuseli and went so far as to ask his wife if they can all live under one roof. Yeah. That went over well. (No, it really didn’t).
Then she falls in love with American Gilbert Imlay. This relationship produces a daughter, Fanny, as well as a lot of scandal. Imlay claims her as his wife while they are in France ( just watching the French Revolution), although they are not legally married. Mary settles into life as a mother, but Imlay didn’t sign up for such domesticity and is gone for longer and longer times. yadda yadda…two suicide attempts and a business trip to Scandinavia later- he moves in with another woman.
Mary, Mary, Mary…sigh…
Enter William Godwin. The two had traveled in similar social circles in London before life mellowed out Mary. He fell in love with her through her writing and finally they see eye to eye ( as well as other body parts) and begin a fast romantic relationship. He gets her, she gets him, they get pregnant and married.
The end.
Ok, not quite…she gives birth just a mere year after their romance for the ages begins. Ten days after the arrival of baby Mary Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft dies from complications after childbirth. This left the love of her life to raise her two daughters, Fanny and Mary–who will grow to become Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.
And just because you don’t think that this story can’t get any more tragic: In an act of deep mourning and love Godwin publishes her letters in an attempt to show the world what a remarkable and special woman she was. Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. With this book, all the details of her private life are revealed and her reputation is trashed for a couple hundred years.
Ouch.
Time Travel With The History Chicks
You can read A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Or you can listen to it – Librivox has it for free on itunes.
We know, you want to read the one that trashed her reputation…naughty listener! 18 bucks on Amazon or download it to your Kindle free!
The letters of Mary Wollstonecraft are available in many different books, as are a good number of her works.
The Collected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft compiles a great number of her letters.
And you REALLY want to watch this, we know you do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjalBmkmkvE
And now that you are really into the life of this woman, check out this blog, or follow Mary on Twitter ( we kid you not!) http://avindicationoftherightsofmary.blogspot.com/p/mary.html
****CORRECTION! Sharp listener Jacki caught a slight faux pas in our Drop Into History segment! George Washington’s wife’s maiden name was Custis, not Curtis. Sorry for the error!*********
As always, music comes courtesy of Music Alley, music.mevio.com