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Fern Riddell (/fɜːrn rɪˈdɛl/[1] FURN ri-DEL) (born 22 January 1986) is a British historian who specialises in gender, sex, suffrage and Victorian culture. She has written several popular history books and is a former columnist for the BBC History magazine.

Early life and education

Riddell attended Barton Court Grammar School from 1997 to 2004. After a gap year, she studied history at Royal Holloway, University of London from 2005, graduating with a BA in 2008, and an MA in 2009.[2] Between 2010 and 2016, she undertook a PhD thesis at King's College, London, entitled "Vice and Virtue: Pleasure, Morality and Sin in London's Music Halls 1850-1939".[2] Her doctoral degree was supervised by Paul Readman and Arthur Burns, and examined by Matthew Sweet.[3]

Career

Riddell is a cultural historian who specialises in sex, the suffragette movement and women's struggle for equality.[4][5][6] She has appeared on various BBC television and radio programmes. In 2013 she was selected as one of the BBC Expert Women, and took part in a training programme that improved women's media and communication skills. That year she was made one of BBC Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers. She has since acted as a researcher for the 2015 revival of Horrible Histories, seasons 13-14 of Who Do You Think You Are?, seasons 3-5 of Ripper Street, and Decline and Fall. She hosts Not What You Thought You Knew, a podcast for the History Channel.[7]

Riddell extensively investigated the scrapbook of suffragette and birth control campaigner Kitty Marion.[8][9] The scrapbook contained stories of her hunger strikes, arson attacks and prison escapes.[8] Riddell has spoken about the sexual assault and harassment that Marion faced and how that fuelled her suffragette campaigning.[8][10]

In 2018, after tweeting that she was "Dr Fern Riddell" and not Miss, Riddell she was subject to criticism on Twitter.[11] To respond to those who deemed her arrogant and "immodest", she created the hashtag #ImmodestWomen, which saw thousands of women sharing their stories.[12] In 2019 Riddell hosted her own BBC Four television programme, A Victorian Scandal: The Rudest Book in Britain.[13] Riddell was a member of the Royal Holloway team on the 2019 University Challenge Christmas Special.[14]

Books

Her publications include:

  • Riddell, Fern (2020). Sex Lessons From History. London: Hodder & Headline Ome. p. 288. ISBN 978-1473666269.
  • Riddell, Fern (2018). Death in Ten Minutes: The Forgotten Life of Radical Suffragette Kitty Marion. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 352. ISBN 978-1473666184.
  • Riddell, Fern (2014). The Victorian Guide to Sex: Desire and deviance in the 19th century. London: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. p. 176. ISBN 978-1781592861.

She has written for the Times Higher Education magazine,[15][16] The Guardian,[17][18] The Huffington Post[19] and History Today. Riddell is active on social media, including Twitter (@FernRiddell) and Instagram (@fernriddell).

References

  1. ^ Fern Riddell, 'it's not riddle like fiddle IT'S RID-DELL LIKE BELL', Twitter
  2. ^ a b "Fern Riddell - Biography - Research Portal, King's College, London". kclpure.kcl.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  3. ^ "BBC - That's Edutainment - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  4. ^ Dr Fern Riddell on suffragettes, the struggle for equality, & radical methods | London Live, retrieved 29 December 2019
  5. ^ "Dr Fern Riddell". Now Then. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Dr Fern Riddell – Curious Arts Festival". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Not what You Thought You Knew". History TV. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Shearing, Hazel. "This Suffragette Kept A Record Of All Her Badass Activism In A Scrapbook Made Public For The First Time". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  9. ^ Riddell, Fern (6 February 2018). "The 1910s: 'We have sanitised our history of the suffragettes'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Edinburgh International Book Festival: Revolting Women – Helen Pankhurst and Fern Riddell With Adele Patrick". The Student. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  11. ^ "A female doctor asked to be called her proper name and men were furious". The Independent. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  12. ^ Evans, Patrick (15 June 2018). "'It's Dr, not Ms,' insists historian". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  13. ^ "BBC Four - A Victorian Scandal: The Rudest Book in Britain". BBC. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  14. ^ "BBC Two - University Challenge, Christmas 2019, Royal Holloway v Sussex". BBC. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  15. ^ "Sherlock Holmes: a very British superhero". Times Higher Education (THE). 2 January 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  16. ^ "Graduate teaching assistants have been left behind by all". Times Higher Education (THE). 13 February 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  17. ^ Riddell, Fern (10 November 2014). "No, no, no! Victorians didn't invent the vibrator | Fern Riddell". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  18. ^ Riddell, Fern (1 August 2014). "Eastbourne pier has become another coastal wreck, but its magic will live on | Fern Riddell". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  19. ^ "Fern Riddell". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 29 December 2019.

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