The Ladies of Llangollen - The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 59

The Ladies of Llangollen

The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 59

Most people interested in lesbian history know the basic story of Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, known as the Ladies of Llangollen. I take on their story by presenting it through extended quotations from their own writings, from accounts of people who met them, and from poetry written in their honor.

In this episode we talk about:

• Why it took me so long to get to this topic, and why The Ladies hold a special place in my heart
• Letters from Sarah Ponsonby’s relatives on the occasion of her elopement
• Excerpts from Eleanor Butler’s journal
• “Llangollen Vale” by Anna Seward
• A sonnet dedicated to Butler and Ponsonby by William Wordsworth
• Description of visits, from Eleanor Butler’s journal
• Entries from Anne Lister’s diaries relating to her trip to Wales and her visit with Sarah Ponsonby
• A newspaper article about Butler and Ponsonby that inspired them to consider a lawsuit
• Why I consider The Ladies of Llangollen to be lesbian icons

Some resources

• Stuff you Missed in History Class: Ladies of Llangollen May 2017
• Wikipedia: Ladies of Llangollen
• Brideoake, Fiona. 2004. “’Extraordinary Female Affection’: The Ladies of Llangollen and the Endurance of Queer Community” in Romanticism on the Net. Issue36–37, November, 2004, February, 2005.
• Lesbians of North Wales through the Centuries

Sources for the texts

• Anna Seward’s “Llangollen Vale” text courtesy of The 18th Century Poetry Archive
• William Wordsworth’s “To the Lady Eleanor Butler and the Honorable Miss Ponsonby” text courtesy of Bartleby.com
• Anne Lister’s diary entries adapted from I Know my Own Heart edited by Helena Whitbread (New York University Press, New York. 1992)

This topic is discussed in one or more entries of the Lesbian Historic Motif Project here:

• Eleanor Butler & Sarah Ponsonby (The Ladies of Llangollen)

A transcript of this podcast is available here.

Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online

• Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp
• Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog
• RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/
• Twitter: @LesbianMotif
• Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server
• The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon

Links to Heather Online

• Website: http://alpennia.com
• Email: Heather Rose Jones
• Twitter: @heatherosejones
• Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)