#21 Seaside Resorts in 19th century England with Emma Butler

Abby and Jillian talk with Emma Butler, a PhD student at Edge Hill University all about Jane Austen and why women were packed off to the seaside!Emma’s work focuses on the seaside in the long nineteenth century in literature and history as a liminal space in relation to sickness, class and social and sexual precarity. Emma is also interested in disability and medical history and of course, friend of the pod, Jane Austen. So if you’ve ever wondered why sick and sad women were packed off to Brighton and Margate, this episode is for you.

Where to find Emma: @19thcenturyem on Instagram and Bluesky

Episode Script

Intro (adaptable and very likely to change depending on us lol)

Hi Jillian

Hi Abby

Welcome back to HERstoryPod. (by the HERstory Project).

In today’s very special episode we are talking about something Jillian and I think about doing every other week: heading to the seaside for some healing sea air. To discuss this, because Jillian and I are definitely not experts, is Emma Butler, a PhD candidate in 19th century Literature at Edge Hill University!

Emma’’s work focuses on the seaside in the long nineteenth century in literature and history as a liminal space in relation to sickness, class and social and sexual precarity. Emma is also interested in disability and medical history and of course, friend of the pod, Jane Austen. 

So if you’ve ever wondered why sick and sad women were packed off to Brighton and Margate, this episode is for you. 

Emma, welcome to the show!

Silly little chat lol

Intro qs

• What first drew you to this topic?

• Was there a moment when you realised, “This is what I want to research”?

• Did you always want to be a historian?

  
  
  
  

(If PhD student)

• What’s it like working on a PhD in this field right now?

Specific Questions:

• Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the moment? - 3rd chapter?

• Chronic illness - what drew you to looking at the seaside and sickness?

  • Did it actually help?

  • Why was it recommended and for who?

    • Dr Richard Russell?

  • What illnesses was this recommended for?

• Class - We’ve spoken on the pod previously about how class becomes a very distinct, codified thing throughout the decades immediately prior to this period, so I’m really interested to know what kinds of people were able to get away to the seaside

  • Could anyone go? Was it expensive, where would people stay?

  • How did class tensions play into this environment?

  • Were there specific seaside towns/resorts that were working class vs “bourgeousie”?

    • Can you tell us about Blackpool and the novel Seets?

• Gender - One of the things we really commonly understand about this phenomenon is that women and girls would be sent to the sea for their health, this is why Brighton developed this really wealthy Georgian area near the beach. You also see this in novels: the MArch sisters take Beth to the beach for some clean air when she is sick, and Austen’s characters are constantly going back and forth, like Austen herself. 

  • But, were these safe spaces for women? - I think about Mr Wickham seducing two different young girls (Georgiana and Lydia) in Pride and Prejudice for example

  • So would you say this was a precarious place?

  • How did women keep themselves safe and modest - (I have to ask about the bathing machines we see in Sanditon!)

• Now I also know that there’s a fun supernatural element to this history, so what the hell does Dracula have to do with the seaside?

General/standard questions

Sources/Research Qs

• What kinds of sources are you working with?

• Did anything surprise you in the archives/etc?

• Was there a source that changed your understanding of the topic?

• Were there gaps or silences in the archive?

Historiography/Debate

• How has this topic traditionally been told?

• Has that narrative shifted recently?

• Are there historians whose work influenced you?

Relevance 

• Why does this topic matter today?

• Do you see echoes of this period in modern society?

• Has researching this changed how you see the present?

Personal shit

• What’s the one thing you wish more people understood about this topic?

• Has researching this changed you?

• If listeners take away one idea from your work, what should it be?

Final qs

• Favourite primary source?

• Where would you like to recover from your mystery 19th century illness?

• Archive or coffee shop?

• Most chaotic historical moment you’ve encountered?

Outro

Okayyyy

Emma, Thank you so much for joining us! (waffle probably)

If listeners want to learn more, where can they find you?

Thanks for listening, please like, review, share, whatever platform you’re listening on and we will be in your ears with more delightful herstories next week 

Xoxo

Gossip girl

Shownotes

Where to find Emma: @19thcenturyem on Instagram and Bluesky