Harlots, Housewives and Heroines - A 17th Century History for Girls

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Sociopolitical Documentary hosted by Dr Lucy Worsley, published by BBC in 2012 - English narration

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Historian Dr Lucy Worsley immerses herself in the world of Restoration England, exploring the captivating lives of the women of the period.

Full Title - Harlots Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls.

[edit] Act One: At Court

Lucy Worsley explores the captivating lives of the women of the period. The years after the Civil War and the Restoration of Charles II marked the end of the medieval and the beginning of the modern age. These were exciting times for women and some rose to prominence like never before. Some had remarkably modern attitudes and ambitions and achieved wealth, celebrity and power that still seems outstanding even by 21st century standards. But, at the same time, they faced a world that was still predominantly male, misogynistic and positively medieval in its outlook. Lucy investigates the lives of the king's mistresses at the royal court, amongst them the royalist Barbara Villiers, the French spy Louise de Keroualle and the Cockney actress Nell Gwynn. Along her journey, she gets the full mistress make-over, takes to the dance floor and treads the corridors of power.

[edit] Act Two: At Home

Lucy looks at the ordinary as well as the extraordinary lives of women in the home, in an age when respectable women were defined by their marital status as maids, wives or widows. If they fell outside these categories they were in danger of being labelled whores or, at worst, witches. While history has left many women voiceless over the centuries, Lucy discovers that in the Restoration a surprising number of women were beginning to question their roles in relationship to their husbands, their position in the home, their attitudes to sex and, most importantly, the expectation to produce children. Meeting a host of experts and experiencing what life was like behind closed doors, Lucy explores whether their lives changed for better or worse during the second half of the 17th century.

[edit] Act Three: At Work and at Play

Lucy looks at some of the most remarkable women of the age, including writers, actresses, travellers and scientists. Against a backdrop of religious and political turmoil, the rise of print culture, the rapid growth of London, the burgeoning scientific revolution and the country's flourishing trading empire, she meets a host of female mavericks who took advantage of the extraordinary changes afoot to challenge the traditional male bastions of society. Women like Nell Gwyn, the most famous of a new generation of actresses; Aphra Behn, the first professional female writer; and Christian Davies, who disguised herself as a man to fight as a soldier - all of them gained notoriety and celebrity, challenging the inequalities of the age. As Lucy discovers, these women's attitudes, ambitions and achievements were surprisingly modern.