A podcast that enlivens the letters of the English sisters Elizabeth Gwillim and Mary Symonds in 1801-1807 while they were in Madras, India, and enters into conversation with the researchers who investigated their lives.
Series Finale with Principal Investigator, Dr. Victoria Dickenson
Dr. Victoria Dickenson The case study: Lady Gwillim's China The new project: Hidden Hands Welcome to Letters Home, a podcast that explores the lives and interests of Elizabeth Gwillim and Mary Symonds, English sisters in India at the turn of the nineteenth century. Over eight episodes, Rosie Noskwith and Amber Craig read letters from the sisters to their family in England, and host Ciel Haviland talks with researchers who explored a facet of the life they were exposed to. The Gwilli...
15 Dec 2024
The deep detective work of deciphering handwritten letters and art with Dr. Rebekah McCallum and Hana Nikčević
Rosie Noskwith and Amber Craig read letters from Elizabeth Gwillim and Mary Symonds, while Dr. Rebekah McCallum and Hana Nikčević reveal the secrets hidden in their handwritten letters and art.
24 Nov 2024
How to learn about plants in 1801 with Henry Noltie
Historian Henry Noltie shares insights into 18th century botany with Elizabeth Gwillim, highlighting the challenges and discoveries of mastering plant identification in 1801.
10 Nov 2024
Is it costume or dress? Talking about the history of clothing with a dynamic trio
Please enjoy this episode, where we get into English and Indian historic dress at the turn of the 19th century through Mary and Elizabeth’s letters with Alexandra Kim, Dr. Ann Wass, and Dr. Toolika Gupta.Webinar: "My Things from the Ship are All Come Safe"andCase study: “Best for this country”: Limerick Gloves
27 Oct 2024
The Birds of South India and Elizabeth’s Watercolors with Dr. S. Subramanya
Digital collection of Elizabeth Gwillim's watercolors of birds at McGill Rare Books and Special Collections here.More information at the Gwillim Project here.For more information Hidden Hands in Colonial Natural Histories, find their website here.
13 Oct 2024
Henry Gwillim and 19th Century English Law in India with Arthur MacGregor
For more on Henry Gwillim, some brief biographical information can be found here on the Gwillim Project website. There is also a Youtube symposium Personal Histories Revealed, which includes a presentation from Arthur MacGregor on Henry Gwillim. More work from the prolific Arthur MacGregor:St Helena: An Island Biography (2024)The India Museum Revisited (2023)Company Curiosities: Nature, culture and the East India Company, 1600–1874 (2018)
29 Sept 2024
A Decolonizing Lens and Centering the Indian Perspective with Dr. Minakshi Menon
Dr. Menon's introduction to the special edition of South Asian History and Culture can be read here (open access):Indigenous knowledges and colonial sciences in South AsiaFor a symposium on those who were in the background of the letters: Missing Voices: South Asian Perspectives on the Gwillim Archivesother pieces:What’s in a name? William Jones, ‘philological empiricism’ and botanical knowledge making in eighteenth-century IndiaChapter in Histories of Medicine and Healing in the Indian Ocean...
15 Sept 2024
Elizabeth and Mary in context with Dr. Anna Winterbottom
Dr. Anna Winterbottom helps me to put the lives of Elizabeth and Mary in context of their place and time: what was India? What was science? How does one do that research?All of Dr. Anna Winterbottom's articles and publications can be found here. Information on her book: Hybrid Knowledge in the Early East India Company World.Welcome to Letters Home, a podcast that explores the lives and interests of Elizabeth Gwillim and Mary Symonds, English sisters in India at the turn of the nineteenth cent...
6 Sept 2024
Welcome to Letters Home!
Welcome to Letters Home, a podcast that explores the lives and interests of Elizabeth Gwillim and Mary Symonds, English sisters in India at the turn of the nineteenth century. Over eight episodes Rosie Noskwith and Amber Craig read letters from the sisters to their family in England and host Ciel Haviland talks with researches who explored a facet of the life they exposed.The Gwillim Project websiteThe Gwillim Project youtube channelThe book! Women, Environment and Networks of Empire
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
30,829
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 29 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
15
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
32
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