1-800-1800

Mandylion Press
  • 5.0 (15)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Brought to you by Mandylion®, 1-800-1800 is your guide to 19th-century history, art, literature, culture, and scandal. Each episode, we dial into a random year of the 1800s to gab about the chaos that shaped the modern world. Hosted by Madeline Porsella and Mabel Taylor, two Victorian Nightgown Girls and historians of art and design, 1-800-1800 delivers rigorous research with a healthy dose of gossip. So pick up the phone, the nineteenth century’s calling! More Mandylion®: mandylionpress.com mandylion.substack.com instagram.com/mandylionpress Music by Jeronimo Ezquerro Aguilar-Alvarez. mandylion.substack.com

  1. 1-800-Wuthering Heights

    2D AGO

    1-800-Wuthering Heights

    In this special episode of 1-800-1800, Madeline and Mabel discuss Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights as well as Emerald Fennell’s film adaptation starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. The girls cover impossible naming conventions, mysterious heritage, and awful set design in this discussion. Listen now! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mandylion.substack.com/subscribe

    58 min
  2. 1-800-Death by Lightning

    FEB 10

    1-800-Death by Lightning

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mandylion.substack.com Good morning starshine! President James Garfield says hello! This week on 1-800-1800, Mabel and Madeline discuss the Netflix limited series Death by Lighting, which tells the story of James Garfield’s assassination. We finally have an answer to a long standing question, “how did people in the back hear before electrical amplification,” and some questions…

    2 min
  3. 1-800-1852: The Princess Who Ate a Glass Piano

    FEB 3

    1-800-1852: The Princess Who Ate a Glass Piano

    This week on 1-800-1800, Julia Carpenter, who writes the brilliant Substack “A Woman to Know,” joins us to discuss the Bavarian princess who was convinced that she had swallowed a glass piano. Our conversation covers everything from the fluctuating definitions of delusion to medieval nuns and the curative powers of spanking. Happy listening! Notes: Read Julia’s original newsletter about Princess Alexandra here (all of the images we discussed are also here!!) and check out Julia’s website and follow her on instagram to read more of her amazing work! The books we mentioned are: Victoria Shepherd’s A History of Delusions: The Glass King, A Substitute Husband and a Walking Corpse Mike Jay’s A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven and Jacqueline Jung’s chapter in History in the Comic Mode: Medieval Communities and the Matter of Person Other images and links: The Windsor Beauties The Hall of Beauties at Nymphenburg Palace The Visitation (Mary and Elizabeth with rock crystal wombs) at The Met This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mandylion.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 16m

  4. JAN 20

    1-800-The Testament of Ann Lee

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mandylion.substack.com Last week, Mabel and Madeline braved a blizzard to go see The Testament of Ann Lee in theaters. In this episode, hear their discussion of the film’s stylistic choices, the actual history of the Shakers, and why there’s so much more to them than beautiful chairs.

    2 min
  5. 1-800-1832: The Great Wave

    JAN 6

    1-800-1832: The Great Wave

    On the first episode of the new year, Mabel and Madeline consider the tortoise and discuss the sweatshirtification of Hokusai’s The Great Wave. We go deep on Prussian Blue, Japanese wood-block printing and its influence on the history of modern painting. Listen, like, rate, subscribe, share, love, kiss kiss, bang bang. HAPPY NEW YEAR LOVERS Madeline & Mabel This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mandylion.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 15m
  6. 1-800-Frankenstein

    12/16/2025

    1-800-Frankenstein

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mandylion.substack.com This week Madeline and Mabel read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and discuss Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation for Netflix. We ask and answer the big questions about AI, monsters, pregnancy, and whether Oscar Isaac is hot. Until next time 3

    2 min
  7. 1-800-1803: On Meat Beating & Batteries

    12/02/2025

    1-800-1803: On Meat Beating & Batteries

    This week on 1-800-1800, Madeline guides us through the horrifying world of early 19th century meat batteries and an experiment to raise a malefactor hanged at newgate prison from the dead. Listen for all the facts on nicotine enemas, the “apparently” drowned, and an alternative reality where frogs legs were a necessary component of consumer electronics. Madeline & Mabel This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mandylion.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 23m
  8. 1-800-Elsie Venner

    11/18/2025

    1-800-Elsie Venner

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mandylion.substack.com This week on 1-800-1800, Mabel and Madeline discuss their new book Elsie Venner with a VERY special guest: Mabel’s dad!! David, a psychiatrist in practice for over thirty years, joins the girls to discuss the novel and help answer the question that preoccupies the characters in the book: What the hell is wrong with Elsie? Tune in for Freud, theology, an…

    3 min
See All (23)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Brought to you by Mandylion®, 1-800-1800 is your guide to 19th-century history, art, literature, culture, and scandal. Each episode, we dial into a random year of the 1800s to gab about the chaos that shaped the modern world. Hosted by Madeline Porsella and Mabel Taylor, two Victorian Nightgown Girls and historians of art and design, 1-800-1800 delivers rigorous research with a healthy dose of gossip. So pick up the phone, the nineteenth century’s calling! More Mandylion®: mandylionpress.com mandylion.substack.com instagram.com/mandylionpress Music by Jeronimo Ezquerro Aguilar-Alvarez. mandylion.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Mandylion Press
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mandylion Press
  • Show Website
    1-800-1800