A Skirt Through History

Name: A Skirt Through History
Released: 1994-05-06T00:00:00.000Z
Cast: Dearbhla Molloy

TV Show · Documentary · Drama

A lesbian Don Juan, a suffragette and a 17th-century Italian painter are among the remarkable people profiled in this portrait of women’s history.

1994 · 29m

EPISODE 1

Marriage

Anne Lister seemed a conventional gentlewoman. Her coded diaries reveal that she was really a lesbian Don Juan.
EPISODE 2

A Lady's Portion

Bessie Parkes founded the first newspaper run by women. Emilie Peacocke later became one of the first women reporters.
EPISODE 3

An Experiment

Dr James Barry was born a girl, but lived disguised as a man. Hannah Cullwick turned from working-class to high-class.
EPISODE 4

The Wreckers

Sarah Benett and Ethel Smyth were prison cell neighbors. Both were charged with window breaking - a suffragettes tactic.
EPISODE 5

A Reputation

Painter Artemisia Gentileschi has been remembered as loose. Her trial record reveals how her reputation was ruined.
EPISODE 6

The Two Marys

Lady Maria Nugent described her slaves as "merry." Meanwhile, Mary Prince, born into slavery, endured brutal treatment.

Jane Austen: Behind Closed Doors
Medieval Lives
Brontë Country: The Life and Times of Three Famous Sisters, Emily, Anne & Charlotte Brontë
The Boy Who Would Be King
You Can't Take It With You
Love for Sale With Rupert Everett
How Mad was King George?
Just Henry
Masterpiece Theatre

Season 1