Wondrous Women

Helen Pugh
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An exploration of women throughout history and the challenges and opportunities that arose during their lives

Episodes

  1. May 7

    Worshipping Wondrous Girls

    Hi, welcome to the Wondrous Women podcast. I’m Helen Pugh and for many years I’ve been researching women throughout history for my books, which include Unsung Women in Somerset, On This Day in Somerset, Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales. In this episode, we’ll be looking at times when girls have been worshipped. There'll be no accompanying Patreon episodes for this one and this will be the last episode for the time being. Thanks for your support and understanding. Sources: Cannington Cemetery: Excavations 1962–3 of prehistoric, Roman, post-Roman, and later features at Cannington Park Quarry, near Bridgwater, Somerset by Philip Rahtz, Sue Hirst and Susan M Wright, The Somerset Village Book by the Somerset Federation of Women’s Institutes, www.cannington.org.uk, somersetheritage.org.uk, Inca Rituals and Sacred Mountains. A Study of the World’s Highest Archaeological Sites by Johan Reinhard and María Constanza Ceruti, neh.gov/project/ice-maiden, penn.museum/sites/expedition/frozen-mummies-of-the-andes/, Inca Mummies: Secrets of a Lost Empire (National Geographic Documentary), From Goddess to Mortal by Rashmila Shakya as told to Scott Berry, Living Child Goddess in Nepal (BBC Our World documentary), nepaleconomicforum.org/the-focus-on-the-past-19-years/, Becoming a deity – a mixed blessing (DW News video), kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2024/11/16/the-untold-story-of-a-kumari-s-mental-well-being, Living Goddess of Nepal to Fin. Analyst: A Journey of Divinity to Resilience (The PVT Show Podcast), npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/05/28/410074105/the-very-strange-life-of-nepals-child-goddess

  2. Apr 23

    Old World to New World

    Hello and welcome to the Wondrous Women podcast! I’m Helen Pugh, and I’m so happy you’ve tuned in. For years, I’ve been on a quest to uncover the hidden stories of remarkable women from history, stories that have inspired my books, including Unsung Women in Somerset, On This Day in Somerset, Jungle-tastic Tales, and Inca-tastic Tales. This episode is the story of Malgarida.

  3. Mar 2

    Political Figures: Contarhuacho

    Hi, welcome to the Wondrous Women podcast. Thanks for tuning in. I’m Helen Pugh and for many years I’ve been researching women throughout history for my books, which include Unsung Women in Somerset, On This Day in Somerset, Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales. In this episode, we’ll be looking at a political leader from the Inca Empire. Her name was Contarhuacho (also spelt Contarguacho) and she was born in Tocash in the modern-day province of Huaylas in Peru around the year 1500. To find out more about my books, you can head to Patreon or to Linktree, specifically linktr.ee/helenpugh. There are books for kids and adults, books in Spanish and in English. The books include On This Day in Somerset, Unsung Women in Somerset, Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales. And once again thanks for listening.

  4. Feb 3

    One Hundred Years

    This episode will be a little different. I will be reciting a piece I wrote to celebrate one hundred years of libraries in Bath and North East Somerset, taking a look at some of the wondrous women who’ve inhabited my local area during those one hundred years. My accompanying patreon episodes for this episode will explore times when women were the first person or last person to do something, with many of those achievements happening within the last hundred years. You can head to patreon.com/helenpugh. I hope you enjoyed this episode. to find out more about my books, head over to Linkree, specifically linktr.ee/helenpugh. There are books for kids and adults, books in Spanish and in English. The books include On This Day in Somerset, Unsung Women in Somerset, Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales. And finally thanks for listening. The sources for this episode are too numerous to mention here, but they are the same ones used for these women in Unsung Women in Somerset and On This Day in Somerset.

  5. Jan 14

    Wondrous Witches

    I’m Helen Pugh and for many years I’ve been researching women throughout history for my books, which include Unsung Women in Somerset, On This Day in Somerset, Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales. Today we’ll be exploring witches who I’ve researched for my books Unsung Women in Somerset and On This Day in Somerset. Sources: Somerset Stories of the Supernatural by Roger Evans, Folklore of Somerset by Kinsley Palmer, www.bristolhistory.co.uk, The Mammoth Book of Superstition: From Rabbits’ Feet to Friday the 13th by Roy Bainton, A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718 by Wallace Notestein, wookey.co.uk, Encyclopaedia Britannica, English Queenship 1445–1503 by Joanna L Chamberlayne, henrysixth.com, oxforddnb.com, Saducismus triumphatus by Joseph Glanvil.

  6. 12/16/2025

    Wondrous Singers

    This episode will be about singers in England through the ages who I’ve come across in research for On This Day in Somerset; some are in the book and some are exclusive to this podcast. My accompanying patreon episode for this episode will explore more singers and composers. You can head to patreon.com/helenpugh and if you’re not already a member, you can join. Membership costs just three pounds per month or the equivalent in your currency, which is less than the price of a coffee (at least here in the UK!). And you get access to two bonus episodes for every free-to-everyone episode that is released, meaning three times as many episodes. And you'll be doing your bit to keep this podcast going! To find out more about my books, head over to Linktree, specifically linktr.ee/helenpugh. There are books for kids and adults, books in Spanish and in English. The books include On This Day in Somerset, Unsung Women in Somerset, Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales. And finally thanks for listening. Sources: English Folk Music on the Margin– Cecil Sharp’s Gypsies by Yvette Staelens, cecilsharpspeople.org.uk, archives.vwml.org, efdss.org, Gypsy & Traveller Voices by Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, freecen.org.uk, marriage records, 1881, 1901 & 1911 censuses, Double Stars: the Story of Caroline Herschel by Padma Venkatraman, Memoir and Correspondence of Caroline Herschel, mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk, oxforddnb.com, batharchives.co.uk/georgian-newspaper -project, A Narrative of the Life of Mrs Charlotte Charke edited by Robert Rehder.

  7. 12/02/2025

    Wondrous Suffragettes

    There’s a house not all that far from where I live called Eagle House. It’s in the village of Batheaston, just outside Bath. And it has a very special place in history because this house gave wings to the suffragette movement. It belonged to the Bathwayt family and was a useful base for organising campaigns throughout the South West as well as a sanctuary for suffragettes who’d suffered in prison. All kinds of female suffrage campaigners were welcome there: militant women, non-militant women, upper-class women, working-class women, openly gay women and so on... If you'd like to support my work by becoming a subscriber on Patreon, you can also access an episode where I talk about Linley Blathwayt, the servants of Eagle House and the fate of Eagle House's arboretum. There's also a subscribers-only episode about the suffragettes Edy Craig and Christopher Marie St John. Sources: The Women's Suffrage Movement by Elizabeth Crawford; A Nest of Suffragettes in Somerset by BM Willmott Dobbie; The Routledge Companion to British Women’s Suffrage edited by Krista Cowman; oxforddnb.com; death and probate records; spartacus-educational.com; Suffragettes in Bath: Activism in an Edwardian Arboretum by Cynthia Hammond with Dan Brown, Suffragettes in Bath: Activism in an Edwardian Arboretum by Cynthia Hammond with Dan Brown; bathintime.co.uk; suffragettestories.omeka.net.

  8. 11/12/2025

    Welcome to Wondrous Women

    Find out the inspiration behind the podcast and what to expect! Hosted by Helen Pugh, the author of Unsung Women in Somerset, On This Day in Somerset, Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales.

    Welcome to Wondrous Women
  • 1 Trailer
    7 Episodes

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About

An exploration of women throughout history and the challenges and opportunities that arose during their lives

Information

  • Creator
    Helen Pugh
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Helen Pugh 2025
  • Show Website
    Wondrous Women