Albion Tonight

About Albion Tonight

Albion Tonight is an eclectic podcast dedicated to exploring questions related to the nineteenth-century and twentieth-century history, culture, and literature of the United Kingdom. My name is Brooke, and I am a nerd. I created this podcast for my fellow nerds. I hold a Bachelor's of Arts in History and English, which is why I am so invested in these kinds of questions. This year's season is unfortunately named "Eating Women," with eating as a participle and not a verb. It seeks to answer some big questions about food history, and socio-cultural histories relating to gender roles and how they shaped people's experiences with food, dining, and eating (or not eating). I post episodes every other Monday and accept questions and requests at albiontonight@gmail.com. To view how I research and interpret history, click here. I hope I'll be on your favorite podcast playlist soon ;). Other places you can find me: albiontonight.com, Patreon (Brooke @ Albion Tonight), YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

Publisher

Brooke

Category

history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Jan 2026

Latest episode

10 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

12 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Aug 2026

   Slavery and Food: Ethics of Consumption

   Tonight, I tackle the topic that has been haunting the whole season: slavery and its inextricable involvement in the history of food, the history of society, and the history of humanity. This episode contains a discussion of the context of slavery in the United Kingdom and its colonies and abolitionist movements. In the second half, it turns to the voices of the enslaved and formerly enslaved.

2. 

   27 Jul 2026

   Ad-Venture: Guess the 20th-Century Food Ad

   Did you enjoy listening to people try to guess obscure Victorian ads? Are you curious about what the terrible pun ad-venture could mean? Well, have we got a show for you! In this fun intermission between history expositions, listen as some of my guests try to guess what 20th century ads are for based on out-of-context quotes and descriptions. Through this fun game, we unpack some of the rhetoric surrounding advertisements over time, and, of course, look at the intersections of food, gender, and social history! Enjoy.

3. 

   24 Jul 2026

   Cookbooks and Empowerment

   This episode explores a few case studies related to the history of cookbooks and how they can be seen as a source of community, empowerment, and expression for women in the 19th and 20th centuries. From individual publishing feats to supporting causes like suffrage and temperance, cookbooks have served as an important tool for more than just making a tasty meal. Disclaimers: In the episode, I used the word “produced” in reference to Charles Dickens and a play from which his wife’s pseudonym was taken. By this I meant that he managed and assisted in performances in which she took part in Used Up: A Petit Comedy In Two Parts. This play was adapted from Felix- Auguste Duvert’s L’homme blasé, by Charles Mathews and Dion Boucicault. The images include an in-depth explanation of this backstory if you are curious. Beeton, Isabella. The Book of Household Management. Published Originally By S. O. Beeton in 24 Monthly Parts 1859-1861. First Published in a Bound Edition, 1861. Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10136/pg10136-images.html (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10136/pg10136-images.html). Dowson, Mrs. Audrey. The Women's suffrage cookery book. Women's Printing Society, Limited, 31, 33 & 35, Brick Street, Piccadilly, W. ([London]), ca. 1912. Glasse, Hannah. The Art of Cookery. London, 1747. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/TheArtOfCookery/page/n3/mode/2up (https://archive.org/details/TheArtOfCookery/page/n3/mode/2up). Notaker, Henry. A History of Cookbooks : From Kitchen to Page over Seven Centuries. University of California Press, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=4811715 (http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=4811715). Rossi-Wilcox, Dinner for Dickens: The Culinary History of Mrs. Charles’ Dickens’s Menu Books including a transcript of What Shall We have For Dinner by ‘Lady Maria Clutterbuck.’ Prospect Books, 2005. The Original Suffrage Cookbook, edited by Cheryl Robson, Aurora Metro Publications Limited, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=6446737.

4. 

   24 Jul 2026

   Mothers, Babies, and Food

   Welcome back to the podcast after a most unfortunate hiatus! History was happening to me in real life, but rest assured that Albion Tonight lives on. This episode is about the lives of historic mothers—the pressures placed on them, the things they fed their babies, and the sociocultural implications of such issues as breastfeeding and nutrition. In this episode we explore the tragedies and triumphs experienced by everyday people as they tried to take care of their infants. Beeton,  Isabella. The Book of Household Management. Published Originally By S. O. Beeton in 24 Monthly Parts 1859-1861. First Published in a Bound Edition, 1861. Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10136/pg10136-images.html (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10136/pg10136-images.html). Henderson, Mary F.  Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving: A Treatise Containing Practical Instructions in Cooking; in the Combination and Serving of Dishes; and in the Fashionable Modes of Entertaining at Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. New York, 1877. Leavy, Barbara Fass. Fathering and "The British Mother's Magazine", 1845-1864 (https://utah-primoprod.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_cdi_proquest_journals_1306700890&context=PC&vid=UTAH&lang=en_US&search_scope=EVERYTHING&adaptor=primo_central_multiple_fe&tab=everything&query=any%2Ccontains%2Cthe%20british%20mother%27s%20magazine&offset=0). Research Society for Victorian Periodicals Vol.13 Issue ½ (1980): 10-17. Mearns, Andrew and William C Preston. The Bitter Cry of Outcast London: An Inquiry Into the Condition of the Abject Poor. London, 1883. “Murder Bottles: Baby Feeding Bottles That Could Kill.” Baby Bottle Museum. https://www.babybottle-museum.co.uk/murder-bottles (https://www.babybottle-museum.co.uk/murder-bottles). Accessed June 2026. Sheridan Norton, Caroline. Observations on the Natural Claim of The Mother To the Custody of Her Infant Children: As Affected by the Common Right Law of the Father. London, 1837. Stevens, Emily, Thelma Patrick, and Rita Pickler. “A history of infant feeding.” United States: Springer Publishing Company The Journal of perinatal education. Vol.18, Issue 2 (2009): 32-39. “Banana Bottles.” Baby Bottle Museum. https://www.babybottle-museum.co.uk/banana-bottles (https://www.babybottle-museum.co.uk/banana-bottles). Accessed June 2026.

5. 

   14 Apr 2026

   Storytime Snack: Sweeney Todd, Pies, and Women

   Welcome to an unconventional and experimental episode of Albion Tonight! Join me for an evening of storytelling where I read and react to the original penny dreadful version of Sweeney Todd. During which I share my insights on gender, food, and history related. See how literature and history are interconnected. Most of all, please sit back, relax, and enjoy this raw and riveting episode relating to Mrs. Lovett and the Demon-Barber of Fleet Street. *Disclaimer*: The text as read is left as is in the Gutenberg Press addition, with a few minor differences from my quirks and mistakes. The opinions and problematic languages therein are those of the 19th-century authors and their text, not my own. Kimball, Courtney. “Sweeney Todd’s Dreadfuls and Mass Readership.” The Journal of Publishing Culture Vol. 7. (2017): 1-12. Prest, Thomas Peckett and James Malcolm Rymer. The String of Pearls: Or, The Barber of Fleet Street: A Domestic Romance.  R. Loyd, Salisbury Square, 1850. Project Gutenberg, 2019.

6. 

   30 Mar 2026

   The Bovine and the Beautiful?: Beef and Burgers

   This episode is the first request of the show! Due to an email request, I researched beef and burgers in Britain. Join us to learn a bit about why beef is historically and culturally embedded in British identity. See how hamburgers crossed the Atlantic.  Journey with us from beloved markets and butchershops to the homes of 1960s housewives and beyond, and find out how even beef made its impact on gendered performance, expectations, and beauty standards. Barnsbury, G.A. “The origin of Smithfield Cattle-Market.” Notes and Queries vol. s3-VII no. 178 (1865): 411–413. https://doi-org./10.1093/nq/s3-VII.178.411 (https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/10.1093/nq/s3-VII.178.411). Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Project Gutenberg, 1839. Drummond, J.C. and Anne Wilbraham. The Englishman’s Food: Five Centuries of the English Diet. Pimlico, 1991. Durbach, Nadja. “Roast Beef, the New Poor Law, and the British Nation, 1834–63.” The Journal of British Studies vol. 52 no. 4 (2013): 963-989. Ernest Dichter Associates Inc. “A Pilot Psychological Survey on Stewed Steak and Canned Meat Pies.” Institute For Motivational Research Inc, 1962. https://www-marketresearch-amdigital-co-uk./Documents/Images/Hagley_Dichter_BX070_1522D_Vol_I/1 (https://www-marketresearch-amdigital-co-uk.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/Documents/Images/Hagley_Dichter_BX070_1522D_Vol_I/1). Hilborn, Emma. “Where’s the beef? The feminisation of weight-loss dieting in Britain and Scandinavia c.1890–1925.” Gender & History vol. 38 no. 1 (2024): 191-206. DOI: 10.1111/1468-0424.12787 (https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/10.1111/1468-0424.12787). (I highly recommend reading this article. It explains all the nuances and aspects of women’s beauty culture and confusion around what to eat and what not to eat, and it does a much better job than I did in this casual episode). Mayhew, Henry. London Labor and the London Poor Volume 1. Project Gutenberg, 1865. Metcalfe, Robyn. Meat, Commerce and the City: The London Food Market, 1800–1855. London: Routledge, 2012. Morgan, A.W. “Rationing and the Black Market.” WW2 People’s War, BBC. October 15, 2014. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/59/a3914859.shtml (https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/59/a3914859.shtml). Accessed March 27, 2026. Norman, Jill and Micheal O’Mara. Eating for Victory: Healthy Home Front Cooking on War Rations: Reproductions of Official Second World War Instruction Leaflets. Michael O’Mara Books Limited, London, 2014. Philpotts, Trey. “Mad Bulls and Dead Meat: Smithfield Market as Reality and Symbol.” Dickens Studies Annual vol. 41 (2010): 25-44. “Rations (prior to 1813).” The King’s Body Guard of the Yeoman of the Guard. n.d. https://www.yeomenoftheguard.co.uk/rations-and-waterboarding (https://www.yeomenoftheguard.co.uk/rations-and-waterboarding). Accessed March 27, 2026. Smith, Andrew F.. Hamburger : A Global History, Reaktion Books, Limited, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=420812 (http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=420812). “The History of Smithfield Market.” London Museum. n.d. https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/london-stories/history-smithfield-market/ (https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/london-stories/history-smithfield-market/). Accessed March 28, 2026. West, Candice. “Sunday Roast— A Tasty History.” Oxford Open Learning. October 29, 2021. https://www.ool.co.uk/blog/sunday-roast-a-tasty-history/ (https://www.ool.co.uk/blog/sunday-roast-a-tasty-history/). Accessed March 27, 2026. Witts, Sophie. “How Five Guys conquered the UK Burger Market.” restaurant online, April 27, 2021. https://www.restaurantonline.co.uk/Article/2019/09/20/How-Five-Guys-conquered-the-UK-burger-market/ (https://www.restaurantonline.co.uk/Article/2019/09/20/How-Five-Guys-conquered-the-UK-burger-market/).

7. 

   16 Mar 2026

   A Sparkling Saga: Sodas, Lemonades, and Soft Drinks

   In this episode, discover how sparkling waters made it from spa towns to middle class homes. Discover the mysteries behind the soft drinks that pervade our lives, from the sparkling lemonades in British pubs to ginger beers, colas, and fruity sodas galore. Learn the ways in which women appear in the archive. Spoiler alert: they have a big role in the history of soda, pop up in soda trade journals, and in some silly shenanigans! Enjoy! My favorite soda is whatever lemonade they serve at  George & Vulture, London. What’s yours? Leave a comment on Spotify or YouTube and let me know! P.S. Turns out the podcast recording studio at my local library caused some of the audio for this episode to jump around and be a little funky. My sincerest apologies. I hope it will still be enjoyable. I put many, many days and hours into this episode, and I hope that still shows. Booth, John. Life and labour of the people in London. London, Macmillan, 1892-1902. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/lifelabourofpeop00bootuoft/page/256/mode/2up (https://archive.org/details/lifelabourofpeop00bootuoft/page/256/mode/2up). Burnett, Professor John, and John Burnett. Liquid Pleasures : A Social History of Drinks in Modern Britain, Taylor & Francis Group, 1999. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=165241 (http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=165241). Crabtre, A.D. The Funny Side of Physic: or, the Mysteries of Medicine,Presenting The Humorous and Serious Sides of Medical Practice. An Expose of Medical Humbugs, Quacks, and Charlatans in All Ages and All Countries. Project Gutenberg, 1872. Diarist 5445. “Diarist 5445 (1963 Entries). 1963. Mass Observation Database, University of Sussex Special Collections, Brighton, UK. https://www-massobservation/Documents/Detail/diarist-5445-1963-entries/23545241?item=23545263 (https://www-massobservation/Documents/Detail/diarist-5445-1963-entries/23545241?item=23545263). Emmins, Colin. Soft Drinks: Their Origins and History. Shire Publications Ltd. 1991. Jeffries, Nigel. “A Biography of a Stoneware Ginger Beer Bottle: The Biucchi Brothers and the Ticinese Community in Nineteenth-Century London.” In The Materiality of Individuality. New York, NY: Springer, U.S. 2009: 57-74. Levin, Judith. Soda and Fizzy Drinks : A Global History. Reaktion Books, Limited, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=6621491. Lucas Balfour, Clara. The Confessions of A Decanter. London. HathiTrust, 1862. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t4dn4127c&seq=1. Mayhew, Henry.   History of London Labour and the London Poor, Volume 1. London. Project Gutenberg, 1851. McAllister, Annemarie. “Mary Anna Paull: The Flowering of a Temperance Novelist.” In Writing for Social Change in Temperance Periodicals. United Kingdom: Routledge, 2023: 63-80. Mineral Water Trade Review and G (https://anyflip.com/qbni/tjoe)uardian Vol. XXXIII No. 388. Crutched Friars, London, 18th July 1905. AnyFlip, https://anyflip.com/qbni/tjoe. Paull, M.A. (Mary Anna). Step by Step. National Temperance League, London. HathiTrust, 1882. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015065392196&seq=7&q1=18 (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015065392196&seq=7&q1=18). The British Colonial Mineral Water Trade Journal Vol XL No. 247. Stationers’ Hall, London, 17th August 1908. AnyFlip, https://online.anyflip.com/qbni/ljzl/mobile/index.html. Webster, Dr J. “A true and brief account (with directions for the use) of the Cerevisia Anglicana; Or, Celebrated English diet-drink...” John Ash, London. Gale Primary Sources, [1800]. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/apps/doc/CB0127320328/ECCO?u=marriottlibrary&sid=gale_marc&xid=14f76d58&pg=1. For photos, go to albiontonight.com!

8. 

   3 Mar 2026

   Tea and Tea Culture

   An Afternoon Tea is considered a quintessential British experience nowadays, but have you ever wondered what lies beneath this elegant tradition? In this episode, I discuss some of the history, origins, and fun facts about British tea and the culture surrounding it. Most importantly, we look at how tea affected women’s lives at work, at home, and on the dance floor! Pour yourself a cuppa, eat some biscuits, and settle in for one of my favorite episodes yet. Bohne, Hartwig. Tea Cultures of Europe: Heritage and Hospitality. De Gruyter, 2024. David, Worton and Bert Lee. “At Our Tango Tea Last Week (1914).” Published by Sheet Music Singer. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8ZWCOXPjis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8ZWCOXPjis). (You can also find this song, along with others from the musical “The Girl From Utah” in some college’s digital music libraries). Eyben, Rosalind. “‘The thin edge of the wedge?’ Tea-shop waitresses, the British press, and the women’s suffrage movement.”  Women’s History Review, vol. 33 issue 3 (2023): 335-354. Flor, Susana Valera. “‘The Palace of the Soul Serene’: Queen Catherine of Braganza and the Consumption of Tea in Stuart England (1662-1693) (https://utah-primoprod.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_cdi_scielo_journals_S1645_64322021000200171&context=PC&vid=UTAH&lang=en_US&search_scope=EVERYTHING&adaptor=primo_central_multiple_fe&tab=everything&query=any%2Ccontains%2Ccatherine%20of%20braganza%20and%20tea&offset=0).” E-journal of Portuguese history, 2021-12, Vol.19 issue 2 (2021), p.171-191. DOI: 10.26300/90dv-xn35. Fromer, Julie E.. A Necessary Luxury : Tea in Victorian England. Ohio University Press, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=1743704 (http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=1743704). (all chapters written by Julie E. Fromer. I accidentally referenced Chapter 5 on David Copperfield as if it had been written by someone else, but it was also by Fromer). Gao, Hao. Creating the Opium War : British imperial attitudes towards China, 1792-1840. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2022. Information, Ministry Of and World Wide Pictures. “Rationing in Britain.” 1944. Imperial War Museum Film Collection, London, UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9wNJ78S2GY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9wNJ78S2GY). Levin, Judith. Soda and Fizzy Drinks : A Global History, Reaktion Books, Limited, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=6621491 (http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=6621491). Nereson, Ariel. “New Women and Girls of Today in Motion: The "Strenuous Clasping" of Tango Teas.” In Performing the Progressive Era: Immigration, Urban Life, and Nationalism on Stage. University of Iowa Press, 2019. Saberi, Helen. Tea : A Global History, Reaktion Books, Limited, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=692189 (http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=692189). “Tea Commercial: Under 12S.” 1979-1980. HAT59/004/011/493. History of Advertising Trust, Norwich, Norfolk, UK, https://www.hatads.org.uk/catalogue/record/8be9272b-81fb-4863-ae00-4394d6c5bb06 (https://www.hatads.org.uk/catalogue/record/8be9272b-81fb-4863-ae00-4394d6c5bb06). (photos on albiontonight.com)

9. 

   16 Feb 2026

   Ad-Venture: Victorian Vibes Edition (Bonus Episode!)

   *Some content in this episode may be suggestive and unsuitable for children. * In this special episode, some of my guests of podcast past, present, and future come together to guess what in the world some of my favorite Victorian (and Victorian-ish) ads are for, since these ads are notoriously obtuse and eccentrically euphemistic. Please feel free to play along at home and put your historical chops to the test. Some of these ads feature women, of course, and advertise some indigestible items, so they are still on par with this season’s theme. Some of these ads contain views that are inherently racist, colonialist, sexist, or prejudiced. This was not okay then and it is not okay now, but hopefully, we can learn something about the past through play, and also acknowledge how advertising reflects and shapes culture, sometimes for better and, oftentimes, for worse. If you are interested in learning more and hearing some more critical thoughts on Victorian advertising, you can email me and/or continue to listen to other episodes in which such issues will have time to be addressed in greater depth. Carnell, Jennifer. “Victorian Advertising.” Sensation Press. sensationpress.com (http://sensationpress.com/). Accessed February 3, 2026. Maines, Rachel. 1989. “Socially Camouflaged Technologies: The Case of the Electromechanical Vibrator.” Technology and Society Magazine, IEEE. 8. 3 - 11. 10.1109/44.31556. “The Genuine French Letter. H. Cook, Bookseller, 5, Sims' Alley, Broadmead, Bristol.” The Lilly Library Online Exhibitions. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://collections.libraries.indiana.edu/lilly/exhibitions/items/show/1894.

10. 

    5 Feb 2026

    Beans on Toast!

    Oh, Beans on Toast. It is a multifaceted dish, which has developed many identities over time from that of the economical wonder meal to a quick breakfast and even that of a quintessential element of British identity (and of a full English breakfast). Both beloved by many and despised by many, there is no way to deny its importance to British history, culture, and identity. In this episode, I seek to take you on a wild roller coaster ride into the history of this dish AND, most importantly, how it relates to women. Believe me, it certainly does. If you want to find out more, pull up a chair, toast your bread, bake your pre-baked beans, and listen to this fantabulous episode. Notes: I mispronounced Ken Albala’s name quite a bit in this episode and sincerely apologize. I accidentally pronounced it with two B’s and I want to own up to my mistake.

11. 

    20 Jan 2026

    Hunger Strikes, Force Feeding, and Women's Suffrage

    When fighting for their right to vote, women in the UK broke off into two main groups: militant suffragettes and pacifistic suffragists. The former were so determined to achieve their goals that they were willing to make huge sacrifices, including transforming their bodies into battlefields for political protest. In this episode, we will discuss the hunger strikes that suffragettes undertook in prison and the government’s response, which was to forcibly feed them, raising questions of what it meant to “protect women” and where the lines between torture and survival lie. “Arrest and imprisonment of nine suffragettes in Winson Green Prison, Birmingham, following violent protests and incidents linked to a visit by the Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, to Birmingham on 17 September 1909. Those imprisoned, with sentences ranging from one to three months, were Laura Ainsworth, Patricia Woodlock, Ellen Barwell, Hilda Evelyn Burkett, Leslie Hall, Mabel Capper, Mary Edwards, Mary Leigh and Charlotte Marsh. The file contains police reports, newspaper reports and a large number of medical reports on the health of the prisoners, several of whom went on hunger strike and were forcibly fed. It also contains letters from the prisoners' relatives, medical opinions from a number of doctors on force-feeding, including a large typescript book of medical evidence, and a number of parliamentary questions from the Labour MP Keir Hardie on the prisoners' welfare. There are signed letters from Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, and various petitions, including two from Charlotte Marsh. The release of Laura Ainsworth on 5 October 1909 is noted.” 1909. HO 45/10417/183577. Women in the National Archives, The National Archives, London, UK. (N.B. This is where the Leigh v Gladstone files are located). "Being Fed Through Nostrils Is Described by Alice Paul (1909)." Clinical Sociology Review, vol. 18, no. 1, annual 2023, pp. 9+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A761299069. Accessed 1 Sept. 2025. Hunger Strike Medal to Maud Joachim. December 1909. GWL-2023-86 (https://ehive.com/collections/8664/objects/1881889/hunger-strike-medal-maud-joachim). Glasgow Women’s Library. Glasgow, UK. https://womenslibrary.org.uk/collection-item/hunger-strike-medal-maud-joachim/ (https://womenslibrary.org.uk/collection-item/hunger-strike-medal-maud-joachim/). Marion, Kitty, Constance Lytton (https://www.spartacus-educational.com/Wlytton.htm) and Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence (https://www.spartacus-educational.com/Wpethick.htm). Letter to The Times (https://www.spartacus-educational.com/PRtimes.htm). The London Times. 10 October 1909. McKenna, Reginald and several signatories. “‘Political prisoner’ status.’” 25 April 1912. HO144/1194/220196, f492. The National Archives, Kew, UK. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/suffragettes-on-file/political-prisoner-status/ (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/suffragettes-on-file/political-prisoner-status/). Miller, Ian. A History of Force Feeding: Hunger Strikes, Prisons, and Medical Ethics, 1909-1974. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. 2016. Smith, Karen Manners. “Women’s Social and Political Union: British Organization.” In Britannica, ed. Britannica Editors. Accessed 19 Jan 2026. https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage (https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage). “Suffragettes’ demonstration, imprisonment, and forcible feeding.” 1912. HO 144/1194/220196. Women in the National Archives, The National Archives, London, UK. https://www-womeninthenationalarchives-/documents/detail/suffragettes-demonstration-imprisonment-and-forcible-feeding/1510477?item=1510480 (https://www-womeninthenationalarchives-amdigital-co-uk.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/documents/detail/suffragettes-demonstration-imprisonment-and-forcible-feeding/1510477?item=1510480). “1913 Cat and Mouse Act.” 1913. HL/PO/PU/1/1913/3&4G5c4. Parliamentary Archives, The National Archives, Kew, UK. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/case-study-the-right-to-vote/the-right-to-vote/winson-green-forcefeeding/cat-and-mouse-act/ (https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/case-study-the-right-to-vote/the-right-to-vote/winson-green-forcefeeding/cat-and-mouse-act/). Not Referenced Directly In This Episode, But Recommended Further Research and Reading: Gullickson, Gay L. “When Death Became Thinkable: Self-Sacrifice in the Women’s Social and Political Union.” Journal of Social History 51, no. 2 (2017): 364–86. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26804038.

12. 

    19 Jan 2026

    Force Feeding, Hunger Strikes, and Women’s Suffrage

    When fighting for their right to vote, women in the UK broke off into two main groups: militant suffragettes and pacifistic suffragists. The former were so determined to achieve their goals that they were willing to make huge sacrifices, including transforming their bodies into battlefields for political protest. In this episode, we will discuss the hunger strikes that suffragettes undertook in prison and the government’s response, which was to forcibly feed them, raising questions of what it meant to “protect women” and where the lines between torture and survival lie.

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