Wuthering Heights is a story full of passion, violence and sexual tension.

So it's no surprise that it shocked Victorian readers when it first came out. How did Emily Brontë, the daughter of a clergyman, create such a provocative world? How did the Brontê sisters write about sex and sexuality in their work? And how accurate is the new film to the original story?!

Joining Kate today is Dr Claire O'Callaghan, author and Brontë scholar, to take us back to Victorian England at the peak of the Industrial Revolution, and find out more about this scandalous story.

For tickets to the live show of Betwixt the Sheets in May, follow the link here https://www.fane.co.uk/betwixt-the-sheets

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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Welcome to a brand new mini-series on Betwixt the Sheets, where our host, Dr Kate Lister, takes you through the most catastrophic breakups in history.

We're starting with one that our guest, author and historian Gareth Russell, calls "the most important breakup in British history by a country mile."

Find out the ins and outs of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon's breakup, including all the awful gossipy details.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They say people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. The Victorians might have done well to live by that rule.

For all of the dirt that the Victorians threw at other eras, suggesting that all those who came before them were filthy, they weren't that clean themselves.

Lee Jackson joins Kate for this final episode of our filthy series to talk toilets and more. Lee is the author of ‘Dirty Old London’, ‘Palaces of Pleasure’ and ‘Dickensland: The Curious History of Dickens's London’

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dublin in the 18th century was a wealthy colonial capitol, but only for a select few.

Amongst this hugely divided and politically charged world was the infamous sex worker Peg Plunkett, who counted some of society's most well to-do as her clients.

What was life like for most people in the Empire's 'second city' at this time? Did she really flirt with royalty? And what scandals did she get wrapped up in?

Joining Kate today is historian, author and co-host of our sister podcast After Dark, Anthony Delaney, to help us get to know this fascinating woman.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Renaissance, a period of transformation in art, learning, philosophy and science that brought us Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello (the artists, not the turtles). This era of the Early Modern period seems to have been tinted with reds and golds, it all sounds very classy ... but how filthy was it?

Kate is joined once again by Dr Julia Martins to explore how Early Modern people washed, how they got rid of their waste, and how dangerous some of their methods were.

Julia can be found at juliamartins.co.uk

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been estimated that between eight and twelve percent of soldiers contracted a venereal disease during the American Civil War. What on earth were they up to?

Kathryn Olivarius is a Professor at Stanford. She joins Kate to discuss syphilis, why it spread so far during the war and how it's impact continued after the war ended.

Kathryn is the author of 'Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom'.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If there's one sure way to irritate an historian of the Medieval period, it's to ask why the people of the Middle Ages didn't wash.

In this episode, we did just that with Dr Eleanor Janega. Kate and Eleanor get into whether there really was poo everywhere, how the Victorians ruined the Medieval reputation, and what they were actually up to at the public baths.

Eleanor co-hosts our sister podcast Gone Medieval and is the author of 'The Once And Future Sex'.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For over a century, a series of gruesome murders have gone unsolved. Until now?

The Thames Torso Killer terrified Victorian Londoners by dismembering their victims and scattering their body parts along the River Thames. Kate is joined by Lucy Worsley in this episode to discuss their investigation into the Thames Torso Killer for 'Lucy Worsley's Victorian Murder Club'. They discuss how the killer evaded discovery, and how their crimes were presented by the press.

Watch Lucy Worsley’s Victorian Murder Club on BBC Two to see Kate, Lucy and a host of other experts including Sarah Bax Horton, Samantha Lundrigan and Marie Cassidy. All episodes from the series now available on BBC iPlayer.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.