Episode 245 – The Life of Alice Spencer with Dr Vanessa Wilkie

Guest Bio

Vanessa Wilkie is the William A. Moffett Senior Curator of Medieval Manuscripts and British History at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. She has a PhD in British history and gender history and an MA in public history from the University of California, Riverside. She lives in Los Angeles. A Woman of Influence is her first book.

Website: https://www.vanessawilkie.com/

Dr Wilkie’s Tudor Takeaway

The National Archives’ palaeography tutorial:

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/palaeography/

Other online resources for early modern English palaeography:

https://folgerpedia.folger.edu/List_of_online_resources_for_early_modern_English_paleography

Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr Wilkie about Alice Spencer.

*Content warning: This episode does contain a brief description of the Castlehaven trials and touches on themes of sexual assault and rape, which some listeners may find triggering.

Tune in to hear Natalie and Vanessa discuss:

–  Alice Spencer’s early life & family

–  Her marriage to Ferdinando Stanley

–  Her patronage of artists

–  The Hesketh plot and Ferdinando’s mysterious death

–  Legal battle and challenges faced

–  Her relationship with her daughters

-Marriage to her second husband, Thomas Egerton

-The Castlehaven scandal and trial

-Alice’s death and legacy

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