Adelina Patti in her prime! (Wikipedia, likely 1860's) Born this way... I was introduced to the delightful Adelina Patti on a tour of the Royal Opera House recently, and her wonderful, larger than life story is certainly worth a Herstory blog. So here she is! The original ‘diva’. Adelina was born to two Sicilian opera singers so she was blessed with the genes and a background to stand her in good stead to become a singer. She was actually born in Spain, in 1843 and her two si

Wow you can definitely feel the chill in the air now can’t you? Happy November everyone! And firstly thanks for a wonderful October!  Samhain/Halloween was an amazing period for us as always, with no fewer than 11 events to ring in spooky season! From our regular Hexing to the launch of our brand new Magic, Mystics and Martyrs, to talks at Chelsea Physic Garden and the Amersham Paracon, Herstorical Tours has been busy and most events were sold out -  thank you so much to all

“Execution of Mrs Ann Hibbins” F.T.Merrell, 1886 Spooky season is upon us ! So its time for a suitably spooky herstory , and this one is about convicted ‘witch’ Ann Hibbins, and so it’s inevitably, a tale of injustice and misogyny.  Little is known about Ann Hibbins’ early life. She was born around 1605 in England and had been widowed once by the time she emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts with her husband William Hibbins in the 1630’s.   Her husband William had previously be

(Why is this feeling less like a joke and more and more likely nowadays?? 😳) Witches? Check. Magic? Check. Ghosties? Check. Gore?...

Young Caterina Sforza - Di Credi (Wikipedia) ‘Do what you want. hang them even in front of me…here I have what’s needed to make others!”...

Happy early autumn! It’s SEPTEMBERRRRR people! Hope you all had a lovely summer, I definitely did! Here’s a quick recap of last month:...

Eliza Lynch’s tomb in Recoleta Cemetery, Paraguay How did an Irish girl fleeing famine in the 19th century end up lying in a grand tomb...

Summoning spirits on Sinners and Saints and Saviours (photo: Jason D Brawn) 😩 (I’m sorry, the pun juice is low right now!) July Jollies...

The freedom of sexual and reproductive rights is scarily fragile, as women have found out in recent reversals of abortion laws in certain...

Phew! It’s getting steamy out there isn’t it? I hope you’re coping…I’m one of those totally unrelatable people that loves the heat, so...

Thanks to a recent high profile coverage in some big national rags, the story of Sophie Lloyd, the first female member of the magic...

if you’ve seen the vampire film Sinners you’ll know the reference of the title - a line from the Irish folk song Rocky Road to Dublin....

I’ve posted a few times now about extraordinary women from history who cross-dressed to achieve the unthinkable, This month’s Herstory...

Florence Pugh as the May Queen in Midsommar (2019) A24 April Roundup May Day May Day! I don’t know about you, but May is one of my...

She was an aristocrat turned suffragist, Irish rebel and political leader. We are all familiar with that Andy Warhol image of Che...

Hello beautiful people! I hope your March wasn’t too dramatic! Mine was, well…🫠 It started off well enough, with a great and well...

Maud Allan as Salome, 1910 National Archives As a performer, I am naturally drawn to heroines of the stage and screen. Particularly those...

Yay! Spring is almost upon us! (exhale collective sigh of relief…) I hope, unlike mine, your Februaries were germ free and you didn’t...

Feel like punching something/someone? This Herstory is for you… If you Google ‘Greatest boxers of all time’ you get names like Tyson,...

January blues are over and it’s February, the official month of love…so what better way to kick off than with the creepiest vintage...