Her Half of History

The 1860s blew new life into children's literature, especially for girls. Alice in Wonderland (1865) has been called the first modern children's book, and one in which moral didacticism was replaced by a fantastic and total disregard for the laws of physics. Little Women (1868) pioneered the intimate home life story and is still one of the best examples. On the trashier side, dime novels were also first published in the 1860s (and they were read by girls as well as boys). Children's picture books became real works of art, and periodicals for girls exploded in popularity. By the early 20th century, libraries were welcoming children into their own special sections, and countries all over the world were producing their own native literature about girls. And by the early 21st century, children's lit was split into children's, middle grade, and young adult categories, with mixed results. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History.

Is there anything better than books? Today I’m not talking about the compulsory part of books at school (that’s a later episode in this series), I’m talking about reading for the love it. Reading because as Meg Ryan's character said in You've Got Mail, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.” Most historical girls were illiterate, unfortunately, but even for those who could read, the growth of literature intended for them was slow. Early books tended to be (1) educational or (2) religious or (3) manuals on good manners ("laugh thou not too loud nor yawn thou not too wide"). In the 18th century, publisher John Newbery (later to have a children's book award named after him) began specializing in books for children, and he tried to make them fun. It was a revolutionary idea that would only gain speed in the early 19th century. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History.

Why pink? And when did girls start dressing in pink, for that matter? (Hint: a lot more recently than you probably imagine.) This episode also covers whether you actually need baby clothes (probably not, historically speaking) and how long a girls skirts should be, and we also touch on why the boys don't get lace, ruffles, and pink. I also mention Kelly Chase and the History Detective Podcast which you can find here: https://historydetectivepodcast.com/. Her new book History, Her Story, Our Story is available through that website. Visit mywebsite(herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. I will also be at Intelligent Speech on November 4th. Get your tickets here:https://intelligentspeechonline.com/ Support the show on myPatreon pagefor bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation onBuy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. VisitEvergreen Podcaststo listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History.

In 1848, the Fox family prepared to go to bed as usual, but the darkness was punctuated by mysterious rapping noises for which they could find no source. Through hours of terrified questioning, they eventually discovered that it was the ghost of a peddler murdered by a previous resident. Or so the story goes. . . Kate, Maggie, and Leah Fox became the most famous mediums of 19th century America, giving rise to the worldwide movement of Spiritualism and leading thousands about thousands of their fellow Victorians to seek comfort and answers from their beloved dead. Were they really in touch with spirits from the other side? Or were they master deceivers? Or something else? Listen to find out! Happy Halloween! Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. I will also be at Intelligent Speech on November 4th. Get your tickets here: https://intelligentspeechonline.com/ Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History.

Games and pastimes mostly don’t get a mention in the records that are more concerned with the death of kings and the collection of taxes. If we manage to know about an ancient or medieval game at all, we usually have no idea who played it, and certainly there is no logical reason to think that only one age or gender might enjoy a game. And yet at least in some times and places, gender associations spring up anyway. Today's episode is the history of girls playing with knucklebones, hopscotch, jump rope, footracing, twirling, dress up, play kitchens, needle crafts, and bicycles. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History.

Of all the words I did not think I would have to define, doll probably tops the list. We all know what the quintessential girls’ toy is, right? Only it turns out we don't. Separating the dolls from the statues, idols, effigies, puppets, and fertility symbols is a complex (and possibly hopeless) task in the pre-modern world, but we give it a go in this episode with dolls from prehistoric times, plus Egypt, Greece, Rome, Japan, Peru, and that's all before we get to the mass-produced blockbuster dolls of Europe and the US in the 20th century, including the much beloved and much vilified Barbie herself. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History.

Historical mothers did not have a lot of pink and purple merchandise for their baby girls, but they did have words. Lullabies, nursery rhymes, and fairy tales are probably as old as humanity, but they mostly didn't get written down until the 17th to 19th century. This episode ranges from the one (and sadly only one) ancient Roman lullaby we know, to the origins of Little Miss Muffet and her Mother Goose compatriots, to the origins of Disney's favorite princesses like Snow White, Cinderella, and the princess and the frog. I talk about feminist criticism of all of that, but also why the feminist critiques may not be quite on point for what girls of the past actually heard. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History.

Childhood doesn't sound like it needs discovering, right? Surely everyone, up to and including a large number of animal species, are aware of children. But the historical record does not really agree with you on that. Ancient biographies tend to start at adulthood. Apparently nothing interesting happened before that, even to very interesting people. Historians have called the ages zero to seven "the silent years" because we have so little information. Today's episode is a look at how we got from there to the obsessively documented kids of today. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History.

In the days before ultrasounds, expectant mothers still wanted to know if they were having a boy or a girl, and experts from Aristotle to celibate male monks to midwives were eager to help them find out. Methods ranged from dubious to really, really dubious, but if you want to try any of them out, this episode will tell you the most common methods. Assuming you actually were born a girl, then your problem was survival in a world with not just high infant mortality, but adult-assisted infant mortality. Documenting female infanticide is tricky, but there is no doubt that it happened pretty much everywhere. In other news, I have partnered with Evergreen Podcasts (https://evergreenpodcasts.com/). Please check out all their other shows.

Today I have an episode by fellow Into History podcaster Rich Napolitano, of the Shipwrecks and Seadogs podcast. He looks at maritime history across the world and across the ages. Historically speaking, ships were often named as women, but they didn’t have a whole lot of women working on them. With some exceptions. There are a handful of known women mariners in history, and that is a potential future series topic for me. In this episode Rich interviews a woman who is currently working in the field, Captain Carolyn Kurtz, a maritime pilot in Florida. See more of the Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs podcast on Rich's website (https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/) and check out this specific episode for pictures of Captain Kurtz at work. I am still on research break. Series 11 on the history of girlhood will start on September 21st. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto Historyfor a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History.