Show Notes
Aphra Behn, one of the first women in England to make her living as a writer, also just so happened to be one of the country's first female spies.
To discover more about the world of female spies, Dr Fern Riddell speaks with Dr Nadine Akkerman, Senior Lecturer at Leiden University whose book Invisible Agents is the first study of early modern female spies. As Fern finds out, espionage and fiction are more closely linked than you think. But why has the important role of female spies played in history been largely forgotten? For that answer we need to head to archives. To give a modern-day perspective on women in espionage, Fern talks to Dr Elizabeth Bruton, curator of the Science Museum's new exhibition, Top Secret. The exhibition features one daring story of a UK-based spy ring whose female members, played an integral role in passing on military secrets to the Russians.
Sky HISTORY's Not What You Thought You Knew is presented by Dr Fern Riddell, produced by Kim Sergeant, Peter Ross and series produced by Sam Pearson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Not What You Thought You Knew
An army of lovers seems like something from ancient myth but the story of the Sacred Band of Thebes is based on reality. This elite fighting force of the Theban army played a crucial role in ending Spartan hegemony in the 4th century BC.
Olaudah Equiano's autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano was one of the very first slave narratives that spawned a popular literary genre. However, while relatively famous in the 18th century, his legacy was largely forgotten in the UK until the 1960s when there was a resurgence of interest in his life. How could such a prominent figure be all but forgotten while their contribution to the abolition movement be supplanted by his white contemporaries such as William Wilberforce and Granville Sharp?
While Dr Fern Riddell takes a week off before we bring the final two episodes of the series, we have a special teaser for our penultimate episode.
Allan Noel Minns, son of Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns, Britain's first Black mayor when elected mayor of Thetford in 1904, served in the British Army as a medical officer during the First World War.
What does the archaeological evidence tell us about the Ivory Bangle Lady, a wealthy woman who died in 4th Century York, and what do her grave goods tell us about material culture in the African diaspora throughout history?