Lucretia as a Symbol

The Queen of Romance

Over her lifetime, Dame Barbara Cartland would write over 700 books that would sell more than 750 MILLION copies worldwide. Though her books were primarily aimed and read by women, Cartland's messages were strickingly regressive, with an ephasis on purity that seems strange to modern readers of romance novels. As her step-granddaughter Diana Spencer would one day discover, some fairy tales don't align with reality.

Support Noble Blood:
— Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon
— Noble Blood merch
— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'

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The Corpse on Trial

When Pope Stephen was putting his predecessor on trial, there were signs that what he was doing wasn't quite right. For one, in the middle of the trial, an earthquake shook Rome. For another, his opponent was a dead body.

Support Noble Blood:
— Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon
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— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'

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The Affair of the Diamond Necklace

Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy was a French countess with a dubious claim to nobility and one brilliant idea: she was going to steal a diamond necklace from Louis XVI. After weaseling her way into court, Jeanne impersonates Marie Antoinette in a series of letters, starts a tabloid scandal, and inadvertently lights the fuse of the French Revolution.

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On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story each week. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.

Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, Jason English
Research, Writing, and Interviews for today’s episode provided by Wonder Media Network
Produced by Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Marisa Brown
Editing and Sound Design by Emily Marinoff
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Voice Actors: Coco-Margeaux Rodale and Tom Antonellis
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Special thanks to Jenny Kaplan, Emily Rudder, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, and Lauren Williams.

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The Female Pharaoh

From wife and sister of a Pharaoh, to regent to eventually Pharaoh in her own right, Hatshepsut is one of the most compelling figures of the ancient world, a woman who sought to preserve her legacy in real time by carving her accomplishments in stone.

Support Noble Blood:

— Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon

— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'

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Death and the King's Favorite (with Benjamin Woolley)

George Villiers was in his early twenties when he caught the eye of King James the VI and I. Almost immediately, George became an intimate "favorite," catapulted into a new title and world of courtly power. Whether the relationship between the two men was sexual is still a question historians debate, but the thing that can't be denied is that their relationship would have deadly consequences. Dana is joined by author Benjamin Woolley, whose book The King's Assassin inspired the new television series Mary & George.

Support Noble Blood:
— Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon
— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.