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 develop 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/

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

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/18083513

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

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

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, we're 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 expected 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/

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