The Ladies of Llangollen - The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 59

2020-09-25

The Ladies of Llangollen The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 59 Most people interested in lesbian history know the basic story of Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, known as the Ladies of Llangollen. I take on their story by presenting it through extended quotations from their own writings, from accounts of people who met them, and from poetry written in their honor. In this episode we talk about: Why it took me so long to get to this topic, and why The Ladies hold a special place in my heart Letters from Sarah Ponsonby’s relatives on t...

The Ladies of Llangollen The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 59

Most people interested in lesbian history know the basic story of Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, known as the Ladies of Llangollen. I take on their story by presenting it through extended quotations from their own writings, from accounts of people who met them, and from poetry written in their honor.

In this episode we talk about:

Why it took me so long to get to this topic, and why The Ladies hold a special place in my heart
Letters from Sarah Ponsonby’s relatives on the occasion of her elopement
Excerpts from Eleanor Butler’s journal
“Llangollen Vale” by Anna Seward
A sonnet dedicated to Butler and Ponsonby by William Wordsworth
Description of visits, from Eleanor Butler’s journal
Entries from Anne Lister’s diaries relating to her trip to Wales and her visit with Sarah Ponsonby
A newspaper article about Butler and Ponsonby that inspired them to consider a lawsuit
Why I consider The Ladies of Llangollen to be lesbian icons

Some resources

Stuff you Missed in History Class: Ladies of Llangollen May 2017
Wikipedia: Ladies of Llangollen
Brideoake, Fiona. 2004. “’Extraordinary Female Affection’: The Ladies of Llangollen and the Endurance of Queer Community” in Romanticism on the Net. Issue36–37, November, 2004, February, 2005.
Lesbians of North Wales through the Centuries

Sources for the texts

Anna Seward’s “Llangollen Vale” text courtesy of The 18th Century Poetry Archive
William Wordsworth’s “To the Lady Eleanor Butler and the Honorable Miss Ponsonby” text courtesy of Bartleby.com
Anne Lister’s diary entries adapted from I Know my Own Heart edited by Helena Whitbread (New York University Press, New York. 1992)

This topic is discussed in one or more entries of the Lesbian Historic Motif Project here: