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Georgian Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll: Unbuttoning Bridgerton

The fabulous wealthy elite of Bridgerton look perfectly preened, their teeth, hair, make up, even their sex scenes are all filled with opulent glamour! But in reality a lot of people in Georgian society, including the wealthy, were dealing with a myriad of issues, from syphilis, teeth decay, secret sex societies and scandals to opium and gin addictions. All of this would have been rife and incredibly visible on the big city streets during the booming industrial revolution.

This two-part series is a deep dive into the 'real' 18th century. Sex historian Dr Kate Lister removes Bridgerton’s rose-tinted glasses, unlaces the corsets and unbuttons the breaches of the Georgians. Join Kate as she investigates how sex, drugs and the world of celebrity were a big thing long before the 20th century.

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Created By

Kate Lister

Status

Ended

Original Name

Georgian Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll: Unbuttoning Bridgerton

First Air Date

June 6, 2024

Last Air Date

June 13, 2024

Seasons

1

Episodes

2

Language

English

Production Companies

Networks

History Hit

Drugs and Rock & Roll
S01E02

Drugs and Rock & Roll

Dr Kate Lister navigates the astronomical impact of gin in the 18th century, who was drinking it and how they were making it (spoiler alert, it was strong, drunk in a pint sized jar and sometimes flavoured with urine!). She looks into how they tried to quell the gin craze after 50 years of gin madness in 1751 and how they promoted the obviously healthy drink of beer as an alternative! After all that booze and tobacco we follow Kate to bath for a more sobering hit of some of Jane Austen’s favourite tipple, the Pump rooms famous spa water, before exploring a group of people even Lady Whistledown herself would have loved, the diamonds of the sex work trade, the influencers of their age, the Courtesans. Finally Kate tries to figure out why everyone was so obsessed with the regency’s most famous bad boy, Lord Byron, was he really mad, bad and dangerous to know?

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