Supersluts of History: Royal Mistress Madam du Barry
episode
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
48 min
3 speakers
7 chapters
transcribed 3 months ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Do you want even more shocking and scandalous history? Like why the ancient Greek statues had such small manhoods or what went on behind closed doors in the Georgian era? Well sign up to History Hit where you can see me discover the scandalous side of history as well as hundreds of hours of original documentaries plus new releases every week covering everything from prehistoric Scotland to the Treaty of Versailles. Sign up to join me in locations around the world and explore the past. Just visit historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. Hello, my lovely Bertwicksters. It's me, Kate Lister. How the hell are you doing? Welcome back to Bertwickster Sheets. Hello. Let's make some room at the back, please.
We've got new people, right? Newbies who might not know what's going on. And because they might not know, we do have to tell them. Yeah, that's right. You can say it with me. This is an adult podcast, spoken by adults to other adults, about adulty things in an adulty way, covering a range of adult subjects, and you've been an adult too. Right, let's crack on.
LAUGHTER
1769 and I have managed to sneak us into Versailles. Everything is so excessive, not to mention my wig. No wonder a revolution is on the cards. These people are just dripping with jewels. But it's years before that's all going to kick off and we are here to see something truly historic and extraordinary and possibly one of the reasons why there was a revolution happen. Jeanne Bacou, the daughter of a seamstress and now one of Paris' high-climbing courtesans, in fact, the best courtesan, is about to be officially introduced to the ageing King Louis XV. She's nervous. She's had to jump through a lot of hoops and step on a lot of toes to get here. But fair play to her. She has climbed the social ladder from the very bottom to the very top.
And here she is, dressed in gold and dripping with jewels and just the epitome of the rags to riches story. Or just the riches, riches are going to get even richer to story. But the revolution's a while off. Let's find out what Madame de Barry has to say for herself.
Hello and welcome back to Betwixt the Sheets, the history of sex, scandal and society with me, Kate Lister. Today is the second instalment of our new limited series, which celebrates and explores the so-called super sluts of history. Who called them that? We did. We called them that. And we want to find out if it is a title well-deserved or deeply resented. These are women who have been defined by their sexuality, for better or for worse, and Madame de Barry certainly falls into that category. The courtesan whose charm and beauty took her all the way from the slums of Paris to the royal bedroom at Versailles. And what, by the way, did Marie Antoinette make of this? Well, spoiler alert, not very much at all.
And how did the story of Madame de Barry help kick off the revolution?
How did Madame du Barry rise from poverty to royalty?
I mean, it wasn't the only thing in the mix, but it certainly didn't help. Well, to help us find out that and even more is the wonderful Professor Christine Adams of St. Mary's College of Maryland, who's the co-author of the phenomenal book, The Creation of the French Royal Mistress. So if anyone can tell us, it's Christine. Wigs and fans at the ready, everybody. Let's do this. Well, hello and welcome to Betwixt the Sheets.
It's only Professor Christine Adams. How are you doing? I'm doing fine. Thank you very much. Thanks for inviting me today, Kate.
Well, I'm thrilled to have you here because the book that you were the co-creator of, The Creation of the French Royal Mistress from Agnes Sorel to Madame du Barry, I loved that book. It was so good. It was so clever. The introduction bit where you argued that the royal mistress and the wife aren't in opposition to one another, that they actually complement when you view it through the prism of the king. I thought, yes, I hadn't even thought of it that way before. That was so good. They serve very different roles. Very different roles. And you are obviously one of the best people we could get here to talk about one of the best royal mistresses, certainly one of the most infamous mistresses.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–3:22
2
How did Madame du Barry rise from poverty to royalty?
3:22–6:24
3
What challenges did Madame du Barry face at court?
6:24–12:26
4
What was the relationship between Madame du Barry and Marie Antoinette?
12:26–12:45
5
How did the French Revolution impact Madame du Barry?
12:45–24:18
6
What were the social dynamics of Madame du Barry's time?
24:18–46:41
7
How did Madame du Barry influence politics at Versailles?
46:41–48:19