28 episodes

Join our host Holly, with a range of guests from the world of heritage and academia, as we take a trip into the most gut-wrenching and heart-warming depths of history to explore affection, infatuation and attachment across time. As we ask, what is the best love story of all time?

Past Loves - A History Of The Greatest Love Stories Holly

    • History
    • 4.9 • 7 Ratings

Join our host Holly, with a range of guests from the world of heritage and academia, as we take a trip into the most gut-wrenching and heart-warming depths of history to explore affection, infatuation and attachment across time. As we ask, what is the best love story of all time?

    Marie & Pierre Curie | Love, Partnership and Radioactivity with Lauren Redniss

    Marie & Pierre Curie | Love, Partnership and Radioactivity with Lauren Redniss

    Welcome to another episode of Past Loves - the history podcast that explores affection, infatuation and attachment across time.

    This week I am joined by author and artist, Lauren Redniss, to discuss the love story between Marie and Pierre Curie.

    From Marie's early commitment to pursing education to the infamous story around the couple's Nobel Prize win, we delve into the personal and professional lives of Marie and Pierre. Theirs was a great love story and  intellectual partnership which resulted in scientific discoveries that changed our understanding of the world, though Marie once said: “There is no connection between my scientific work and the facts of private life."

    Their romance is was, however, the epitome of close professional collaboration. They were creative, passionate and driven to developing scientific knowledge. Their commitment to endless back-breaking work with pitchblende in a draughty shed to extract radium salts was quite remarkable. And yet, as a couple, their work changed the world in ways that continue to have palpable ramifications today. Here is the story of Nobel Prize winners Marie and Pierre Curie.

    Where To Find Us

    Buy Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Lauren-Redniss/Radioactive--Marie--Pierre-Curie-A-Tale-of-Love-and-Fallout/17248977

    Find out more about Lauren: http://laurenredniss.com/

    Follow Lauren on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenredniss/

    Follow Past Loves on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastlovespodcast/

    Join the Past Loves newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/d293dd27393a/past-loves-newsletter

    If Past Loves has become your current love, you can email me at pastlovespodcast@gmail.com

    • 49 min
    Benjamin and Mary Anne Disraeli | A Strange Romance With Daisy Hay

    Benjamin and Mary Anne Disraeli | A Strange Romance With Daisy Hay

    Welcome to another episode of Past Loves - the history podcast that explores affection, infatuation and attachment across time.

    This week I am joined by author and Associate Professor in English Literature and Life Writing at the University of Exeter, Daisy Hay, to discuss the love story between Benjamin and Mary Anne Disraeli.

    Daisy's research into the lives and love of Benjamin and Mary Anne is rooted in extensive archival work in the Reading Room at the Bodleian Library where Mary Anne's remarkable collection of letters is held. Benjamin and Mary Anne wrote their love story into being, weaving romantic ideals into their correspondence. As Mary Anne most famously said: “Dizzy married me for my money. But if he had the chance again he would marry me for love.” 

    Benjamin's political career is also woven into the very fabric of their relationship. Their love story existed within the political sphere as Mary Anne helped Benjamin with his campaigns. On the night of the passing of the 1867 Reform Act, rather than celebrating with supporters at the Carlton Club, Benjamin would return home to Mary Anne who was waiting for him with a bottle of champagne and a raised pie from Fortnum and Mason. Together, they would cultivate their romance over the years which resulted in a relationship based in deep respect, admiration and love. It was a true union.

    Where To Find Us

    Read Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Daisy-Hay/Mr-and-Mrs-Disraeli--A-Strange-Romance/16489550

    Follow Daisy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daisy.hay/

    Follow Past Loves on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastlovespodcast/

    Join the Past Loves newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/d293dd27393a/past-loves-newsletter

    If Past Loves has become your current love, you can email me at pastlovespodcast@gmail.com

    • 42 min
    Selina & Lawrence Kay-Shuttleworth | A Love Story In Letters With Isobel Staton

    Selina & Lawrence Kay-Shuttleworth | A Love Story In Letters With Isobel Staton

    Welcome to another episode of Past Loves - the history podcast that explores affection, infatuation and attachment across time.

    This week I am joined by University of York doctoral student Isobel Staton to discuss the love story between Selina and Lawrence Kay-Shuttleworth.

    Love letters provide us with the perfect way into the relationships of couples in the past. But it takes endless hours of archival research to piece together these stories. In this episode, Holly is given incredible access to the recent research Isobel has undertaken in the archive of Gawthorpe Hall into Selina Bridgeman and, therefore, her husband Lawrence Kay-Shuttleworth, Gawthorpe's heir. Selina and Lawrence reflect each other's personalities in many ways - both passionate, eloquent and driven. They expect to be able to build a life together.

    Selina's archive of letters offers us a proximity to her love story with Lawrence - a love story that in many ways echoes the experience of many women at the beginning of the First World War as she experiences love and loss in the intensity of wartime. Selina's story in particular shows that, in the end, the desire to love and be loved is perennial.


    Where To Find Us

    Find out about Gawthorpe Hall: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/gawthorpe-hall

    Discover more about Gawthorpe Hall's exhibition 'Gawthorpe's Remarkable Women': https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/events/55385889-6c7d-43f0-9e5b-ef45f78b59a2/pages/details

    Follow Past Loves on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastlovespodcast/

    Join the Past Loves newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/d293dd27393a/past-loves-newsletter

    If Past Loves has become your current love, you can email me at pastlovespodcast@gmail.com

    • 1 hr 12 min
    Virginia Woolf & Vita Sackville-West | Loving In Squares With Sarah Gristwood

    Virginia Woolf & Vita Sackville-West | Loving In Squares With Sarah Gristwood

    Welcome to another episode of Past Loves - the history podcast that explores affection, infatuation and attachment across time.

    This week I am joined by best-selling biographer, historian and broadcaster, Sarah Gristwood as we delve into the unique relationship between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West.  

    The relationship between Vita and Virginia is as complex and heart-breaking, as it was intensely passionate. They met one evening at a dinner party, both equally fascinated by each other, and went on to develop a relationship that ebbed and flowed between friendship and romantic affection for many years. Their love story was not complicated by their husbands. In fact, how these four people treated each other with such acceptance, kindness and understanding is one of the most interesting aspects of their relationship.

    As writers, lovers and friends, Vita and Virginia crafted a love story quite unlike any other. They will be forever bound together in life and legacy.

    Where To Find Us

    Shop Sarah's book Vita & Virginia: The lives and love of Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Sarah-Gristwood/Vita--Virginia--A-Double-Life/21449035

    Discover more about Sarah: http://sarahgristwood.com/

    Follow Sarah on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.gristwood.1

    Follow Sarah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahgristwood

    Follow Past Loves on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastlovespodcast/

    Join the Past Loves newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/d293dd27393a/past-loves-newsletter

    If Past Loves has become your current love, you can email me at pastlovespodcast@gmail.com

    • 54 min
    Edith Craig, Christopher St. John & Tony Atwood | A Creative Retreat to Smallhythe Place With Susannah Mayor

    Edith Craig, Christopher St. John & Tony Atwood | A Creative Retreat to Smallhythe Place With Susannah Mayor

    Welcome back to the next episode of Past Loves - the weekly history podcast that explores affection, infatuation and attachment across time.

    This week I am joined by Senior House and Collection Officer of Smallhythe Place, Susannah Mayor, to discuss the fascinating relationship between Edith Craig, Christopher St. John and Tony Atwood. 
    Together Edy, Chris and Tony created a space to live freely, passionately and creatively. Now an oasis which celebrates the history of theatre, and particularly that of Dame Ellen Terry, their relationship lives at the heart of Smallhythe Place. Edy and Craig made a place for themselves in the suffrage movement with the Pioneer Players, with Tony providing props and painted scenery . Her work is a testament to the beauty and use of light. They designed their own lives, alongside many theatrical performances, but it is their relationship which now deserves to take centre stage.

    CW: There is a brief mention of overdose when discussing Edith's engagement from 19:53 mins to 20:07.  

    Where To Find Us

    Book tickets for Smallhythe Place: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/smallhythe-place

    Follow Smallhythe Place on Instagram: @smallhythe_placent

    Follow Smallhythe Place on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmallhythePlaceNT

    Follow Smallhythe Place on Twitter: https://twitter.com/smallhythent

    Follow Past Loves on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastlovespodcast/

    Listen To Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas episode with Matthew Sturgis: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/oscar-wilde-lord-alfred-douglas-love-on-trial-with/id1509195421?i=1000478174906

    Join the Past Loves newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/d293dd27393a/past-loves-newsletter

    If Past Loves has become your current love, you can email me at pastlovespodcast@gmail.com

    • 50 min
    Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine | The Medieval Power Couple With Matthew Lewis

    Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine | The Medieval Power Couple With Matthew Lewis

    Welcome back to the next episode of Past Loves - the weekly history podcast that explores affection, infatuation and attachment across time.

    This week I am joined by author Matthew Lewis to discuss the fascinating and sprawling relationship between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

    Eleanor of Aquitaine had already lived an extraordinary medieval life before she ever met Henry II when she was thrust into the role of French Queen at an early age. But when her marriage was annulled, and her future prospects precarious, there was only one man that she wanted to marry. Henry II was lively, successful and soon to claim his rights as the next King of England. He was everything her first husband Louis had failed to be. Together they would build a vast empire that stretched from Northumberland to the Mediterranean, creating a large family at the same time. But could it last?

    Eleanor and Henry were the power couple of their age and their love story is, therefore, sensationally dramatic.

    Where To Find Us

    Shop Matt's book Henry II & Eleanor Aquitaine: Founding An Empire: https://www.amberley-books.com/henry-ii-and-eleanor-of-aquitaine.html

    Find more from Matt: http://mattlewisauthor.com/

    Follow Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattLewisAuthor

    Join the Past Loves newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/d293dd27393a/past-loves-newsletter

    Follow Past Loves on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastlovespodcast/ 

    If Past Loves has become your current love, you can email me at pastlovespodcast@gmail.com

    • 1 hr 11 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
7 Ratings

7 Ratings

karasmannequin ,

Lovely Podcast and Concept

This is an absolutely delightful approach to a history podcast and I have enjoyed the episodes I listened to so far! It discusses each episode a poignant historical couple, their history, and their impact together.

Top Podcasts In History

The Rest Is History
Goalhanger Podcasts
American Scandal
Wondery
Throughline
NPR
You're Wrong About
Sarah Marshall
The Lion and The Sun: A Modern History of Iran
Oriana Coburn
American History Tellers
Wondery

You Might Also Like