Here’s what’s new from That Shakespeare Life
Tools used for Prisoner Torture for the 17th Century
Untangle the history behind early modern punishment devices, including iron collars, scold’s bridles, gibbets, & more.
Exploring Wisson House, Shakespeare’s Neighbor
From the stage to the scaffold, yellow carried more meaning in Shakespeare’s England than we might expect.
We begin with Malvolio in Twelfth Night, proudly appearing in his yellow stockings, convinced that his fashion choice will win admiration. Instead, it makes him ridiculous. Shakespeare turns yellow into a joke—but the joke only works because his audience understood that clothing, color, and reputation were deeply connected.
That same world of fashion leads us to the saffron-starched ruffs of Jacobean England. These bright yellow collars and cuffs were not just decorative. They were visible, fashionable, and controversial.
Then comes Anne Turner.
A court-connected widow and businesswoman, Turner became famous for her association with saffron-yellow starch. When she was implicated in the poisoning of Sir Thomas Overbury, her fashion became part of the scandal. By the time of her trial and execution, yellow was no longer merely comic or stylish. It had become infamous.
As you listen to today’s conversation, follow the color yellow from Malvolio’s stockings to Anne Turner’s ruffs, and into one of the most sensational murder trials of Shakespeare’s lifetime.
How Shakespeare’s England Laid the Groundwork for the Witch Panics
The great witch panics of seventeenth-century Britain came after Shakespeare’s death, but the laws, fears, and beliefs that made them possible were already developing during his lifetime. In this episode, Marion Gibson, author of Witchland, explores how the 1604 Witchcraft Act, King James’s ideas about witches and demonic conspiracy, early witch hunters, neighborhood disputes, and Civil War instability transformed suspicion into persecution.
The First Book of Fashion: The Book of Clothes of Matthaeus and Veit Konrad Schwarz of Augsburg
In this episode of That Shakespeare Life, Ulinka Rublack and Maria Hayward join Cassidy Cash to explore the extraordinary Book of Clothes created by sixteenth-century accountant Matthäus Schwarz. Through more than 130 illustrated portraits, Schwarz documented his changing wardrobe, body, social ambitions, and personal identity across decades of his life. The conversation explores what these images reveal about Renaissance fashion, masculinity, status, self-fashioning, emotion, and the ways clothing could communicate who you were in Shakespeare’s world.
Everyday Objects from Shakespeare’s Plays
Explore the everyday objects mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays and what the history of these real items tell us about Shakespeare’s world.
Come inside Kronborg Castle, Known to Shakespeare as Elsinore
In 1605, a commemorative coin was struck in the Dutch Republic to honor the events of the Gunpowder Plot in England. This is that story.
Turkeys, Pelicans, Falcons, and more! Birds of Shakespeare
Come inside the world of birds for Shakespeare’s plays to explore early modern science and Missy Dunaway’s project to illustrate every single bird mentioned in the plays of the bard.
Elizabethan Cats and Their Connection to Witches
Cats were often the primary familiar associated with witches, but the life of a cat in Elizabethan England extended far beyond just being an image of witchcraft. Cats were useful in the 16th century, working a variety of jobs for their human counterparts, and even on occasion, landing themselves in a house as a pet. Explore some of the work, play, and superstitions associated with cats for Shakespeare England, with our guest, Helen Parish.
Housewifery: What it Was Like to Be A Housewife in 16th Century England
As an essential part of daily living in Shakespeare’s England, I wanted to track down exactly what was involved in being a 16-17th century housewife, and there was no one better suited to give us the details than Jane Whittle, author of Women’s Work in Rural England, 1500-1700.
New Discovery About the Blackfriars with Lucy Munro
This episode traces the history of Shakespeare’s Blackfriars property after his death, following its passage from his daughter Susanna Hall to his granddaughter Elizabeth Barnard. Newly identified legal records—including a 1639 settlement, Elizabeth’s sale of the property in the 1660s, and a later Close Roll conveyance—help clarify the disputes over its ownership and preserve a direct documentary link back to William Shakespeare.
Find out what it’s like inside a Tudor Home
Come inside a typical Tudor home with our guest, Bethan Watts as she shares about the happenings, objects, and people we would find inside.
Tankards and Trouble: Alehouses in Shakespeare’s England
This week, we’re joined by Mark Hailwood, author of Alehouses and Good Fellowship in Early Modern England, to step through the tavern door and into the noisy, smoky world of 16th- and 17th-century alehouses.
Together, we’ll explore the people who ran these establishments, the customs and rules that governed them, the drinks poured across the bar, and the colorful realities behind Shakespeare’s tavern scenes. Was Mistress Quickly inspired by real alehouse keepers? How accurate were Shakespeare’s depictions of tavern life? And what details from the plays ring true—or delightfully false—when held up against the history of early modern England?
Let’s find out!