Episode 21 - Dr Clare Stainthorp - Freethought in the Nineteenth Century

Victorian Legacies

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Clare Stainthorp, who researches into nineteenth-century atheist, secular and agnostic movements, and their periodical culture. We discuss how pamphlets and periodical culture helped not only to provide a space in which like-minded individuals could discuss freethought ideas, but enabled them to form a community and organise events. We discuss notable individuals such as Constance Naden, and also talk about the upcoming freehtought conference.
About my guest: Dr Clare Stainthorp is a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow in the Department of English at Queen Mary, University of London. She is primarily working on a new project about nineteenth-century atheist, secular, and agnostic movements and their periodicals. Her first book (which came out in 2019) was on the Victorian poet, atheist philosopher, and scientist Constance Naden, about whom she has also published in a range of other academic venues. Clare has co-edited a volume of primary sources titled ‘Disbelief and New Beliefs’ for a Routledge Historical Resource on Nineteenth-Century Religion, Literature and Culture, which came out in 2020. Other strands of her current research include nineteenth-century esotericism and the works of George Egerton, and freethought writing for children; more broadly, she is interested in Victorian women's poetry, the dialogue as a literary form, and interdisciplinarity in nineteenth-century Britain
For more information on Clare's work, check out the details below:
https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sed/staff/stainthorpc.html
For details on the Freethought in the Long Nineteenth Century: New Perspectives conference: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sed/events/freethought/
Check out Clare's suggestions:
George Egerton - Keynotes (can be freely available via Archives.org)
Episode Credits:
Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma Catan
Music: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSound
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