What would it look like to live a life without fear? Mary Seacole’s story may hold the answer! She spent her life rushing from one catastrophe to the next, doing anything she could to ease human suffering – without a single thought for her own safety. From disease-infested Panamanian goldmines to the horrific battlefield hospitals of Crimea – Mary spent her life being “relentlessly useful” …but how on earth did she do it?
Olivia interviews historian Helen Rappaport, author of the fascinating new book In Search of Mary Seacole. Thank you to Penguin Audio for allowing us to use selections from their delightful audiobook production of Mary’s memoir, The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, which was performed by Yasmin Mwanza. You can also find the full text of Mary’s memoir online here.
Guest Helen Rappaport is the author of In Search of Mary Seacole, The Romanov Sisters, The Last Days of the Romanovs, and many other critically acclaimed titles. She has been a full-time writer for more than twenty-three years, and in 2003 discovered and purchased an 1869 portrait of Mary Seacole that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, sparking a long investigation into Seacole’s life and career.
Music featured in this episode was provided by Minivandal, The Tides, Quincas Moreira, Aaron Kenny, the USMC Band, and Jeff Cuno.
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THE ABOLITIONIST Ellen Garrison
THE BYZANTINE Irene of Athens
THE BUTTERFLY IN THE SUN Mata Hari
THE COUNTERFEIT COUNTESS Janina Mehlberg
THE VOYAGER Hannah Masury Howe
THE SOLID CITIZEN Frances Perkins
THE EQUESTRIAN Anna Sewell
THE GUNG-HO ORIGINAL Helen Foster Snow
CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN Selma Lagerlöf
THE WILD CHILD Alice Roosevelt
THE BOSTON BRAHMIN Ethel Gibson Allen
THE BLOOD COUNTESS Elizabeth Báthory
THE MONGOL KHATUN Genghis Khan's Daughters
THE QUEEN OF HAITI Marie-Louise Christophe
THE ANTI-FASCIST Gerda Taro
THE CLEANING LADY Seraphine of Senlis
THE WESTERN WOMAN Rattlesnake Kate Slaughterback
THE WOMAN KING Hatshepsut
THE PUNA HELE Mary Kawena Puku'i
THE ACCUSED Clara Ford
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