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.
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Coming soon: Lady Swindlers Series 2
Coming soon. Lucy Worsley and team return for a second series focusing on conwomen, thieves, hoaxers and swindlers.
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40. By Hook or by Crook
Lucy Worsle digs into the lives of bold women who choose - by hook or by crook - to escape a life of poverty, misfortune and hardship.
This episode highlights the fascinating tales of four invincible women. Sophie Lyons, a bank robber who, by the power of the American Dream, turns into a philanthropist. Madam Rachel, a beautician who combines fraudulent treatments with a deep understanding of women's insecurities to dupe an elite clientele. Ann Mary Provis, a bright artist who deceives the Royal Academicians, no less. And Fanny Davies, a cunning thief who uses her wit and charm to rob unsuspecting victims.
Lucy is joined by in-house historian, Professor Rosalind Crone, and guest detective Baroness Ayesha Hazarika MBE, to discuss the motivations behind these women's choices and explore the broader implications of their swindles.
We see them as mothers, as businesswomen, and simply as humans with faults, desires and dreams and we ask, does crime pay? Producer: Riham Moussa
Readers: Clare Corbett and Jonathan Keeble
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4If you're in the UK, listen to the newest episodes of Lady Killers first on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/3M2pT0K
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39. Ann Mary Provis - Art Hoaxer
In this new series Lucy Worsley switches her attention from Lady Killers to Lady Swindlers - con women, thieves and hustlers. This time Lucy is investigating the case of Ann Mary Provis, an obscure young artist in Georgian London who has the leading painters of her day - including the President of the Royal Academy - eating out of her hand. She claims to know the ‘secret’ of how great Renaissance painters, like Titian, achieved intense colour and luminosity. But Ann Mary isn’t going to part with Titian’s ‘lost recipe’ unless the artists who want it pay up. And ultimately, in falling for her hoax, they lose a great deal more than their money.With Lucy to explore Ann Mary’s story is Rebecca Salter, the current President of the Royal Academy, and the first woman to hold that position. Lucy and Rebecca discover how Ann Mary, the poorly educated daughter of a servant, uses her femininity to dupe the great men of the Royal Academy. Lucy is also joined by historian Dr Jacqueline Riding at the Royal Academy in London to explore the humiliating denouement of Ann Mary’s hoax. When pictures using her ‘secret recipe’ are put on display they are ridiculed, and the whole episode is immortalised by the great 18th century satirist James Gillray. Lucy wants to know: how did an obscure young female artist pull off this extraordinary hoax? Why have so many female artists of the 18th century, like Ann Mary Provis, disappeared from view? And have women artists today finally achieved the same recognition as men?Producer: Jane Greenwood
Historical consultant: Professor Rosalind Crone
Readers: Clare Corbett and Jonathan Keeble
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.If you're in the UK, listen to the newest episodes of Lady Killers first on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/3M2pT0K
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38. Fanny Davies - Uncommon Thief
In this new series Lucy Worsley switches her attention from Lady Killers to Lady Swindlers - con women, thieves and hustlers. This is where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back in time to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this episode Lucy is investigating the life of Fanny Davies, a thief who will take everything you have, including your trousers. A pickpocket and prostitute, at the age of 20 in 1785 she pulled off the daring theft of a huge sum of money in an Essex pub which turned her into a national celebrity. Condemned to death for her crime, Fanny’s story was taken up by pamphleteers determined to profit from her story, and they embellished her life with tales of highway robbery and aristocratic seduction. With Lucy to explore Fanny Davies’ story is the Essex-born barrister Alexandra Wilson. They discuss the glamorisation of female criminals then and now. And consider the reasons why a woman such as Fanny turned to a life of crime, finding uncomfortable parallels with women in the criminal justice system today. Lucy is also joined by historian Rosalind Crone. They visit Southwark in South East London where Fanny grew up and learned her trade as a prostitute and pickpocket, and they travel to Tilbury in Essex where Ros reveals an extraordinary twist in Fanny’s tale. Lucy wants to know: why did Fanny’s story capture the 18th century public imagination so powerfully? How can we get behind the celebrity criminal to find out what Fanny Davies’ life is really like? And what does Fanny’s story tell us about the lives of female criminals 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.If you're in the UK, listen to the newest episodes of Lady Killers first on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/3M2pT0K
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