Fragments from an Eighteenth-Century Family Scandal

Speaker: Dr Lisa Smith (University of Essex)

Lisa Smith researches gender, health and the household in early modern England and France. In this talk, she discusses the tumultuous relationships of the Newdigates and attempts to piece together a shadowy family scandal from the perspectives of father, daughter and son. She considers the significance of the family’s medical history – old age, ill health and mental illness – as the drama unfolded.