Fern Riddell

Fern Riddell (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.

Fern Riddell
Born (1986-01-22) 22 January 1986
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
OccupationHistorian, writer, historical consultant
Years active2013–present
Academic background
EducationBarton Court Grammar School
Alma materRoyal Holloway, University of London
King's College London
ThesisSex and Suffrage: Female Agency in the British Music Halls, 1850-1919 (2016)
Doctoral advisorPaul Readman
Arthur Burns
Other academic advisorsMatthew Sweet
Academic work
DisciplineHistory
Feminism
Sub-disciplineGender, sex and suffrage in Victorian Britain
Notable worksDeath in Ten Minutes: The Forgotten Life of Radical Suffragette Kitty Marion
WebsiteFern Riddell's website

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.[1] 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".[1] Her doctoral degree was supervised by Paul Readman and Arthur Burns, and examined by Matthew Sweet.[2]

Career

Riddell is a cultural historian who specialises in sex, the suffragette movement and women's struggle for equality.[3][4][5] 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.[6]

Riddell extensively investigated the scrapbook of suffragette and birth control campaigner Kitty Marion.[7][8] The scrapbook contained stories of her hunger strikes, arson attacks and prison escapes.[7] Riddell has spoken about the sexual assault and harassment that Marion faced and how that fuelled her suffragette campaigning.[7][9]

In 2018, after tweeting that she was "Dr Fern Riddell" and not Miss, Riddell she was subject to criticism on Twitter.[10] To respond to those who deemed her arrogant and "immodest", she created the hashtag #ImmodestWomen, which saw thousands of women sharing their stories.[11] In 2019 Riddell hosted her own BBC Four television series, Victorian Scandal: the Rudest Book in Britain.[12] Riddell was a member of the Royal Holloway team on the 2019 University Challenge Christmas Special.[13]

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,[14][15] The Guardian,[16][17] The Huffington Post[18] and History Today. Riddell is active on social media, including Twitter (@FernRiddell) and Instagram (@fernriddell).

References
  1. "Fern Riddell - Biography - Research Portal, King's College, London". kclpure.kcl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  2. "BBC - That's Edutainment - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  3. Dr Fern Riddell on suffragettes, the struggle for equality, & radical methods | London Live, retrieved 2019-12-29
  4. "Dr Fern Riddell". Now Then. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  5. "Dr Fern Riddell – Curious Arts Festival". Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  6. "Not what You Thought You Knew". History TV. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  7. Shearing, Hazel. "This Suffragette Kept A Record Of All Her Badass Activism In A Scrapbook Made Public For The First Time". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  8. Riddell, Fern (2018-02-06). "The 1910s: 'We have sanitised our history of the suffragettes'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  9. "Edinburgh International Book Festival: Revolting Women – Helen Pankhurst and Fern Riddell With Adele Patrick". The Student. 2018-08-27. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  10. "A female doctor asked to be called her proper name and men were furious". The Independent. 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  11. Evans, Patrick (2018-06-15). "'It's Dr, not Ms,' insists historian". Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  12. "BBC Four - A Victorian Scandal: The Rudest Book in Britain". BBC. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  13. "BBC Two - University Challenge, Christmas 2019, Royal Holloway v Sussex". BBC. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  14. "Sherlock Holmes: a very British superhero". Times Higher Education (THE). 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  15. "Graduate teaching assistants have been left behind by all". Times Higher Education (THE). 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  16. Riddell, Fern (2014-11-10). "No, no, no! Victorians didn't invent the vibrator | Fern Riddell". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  17. Riddell, Fern (2014-08-01). "Eastbourne pier has become another coastal wreck, but its magic will live on | Fern Riddell". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  18. "Fern Riddell". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
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