This week on 1-800-1800, Julia Carpenter, who writes the brilliant Substack “A Woman to Know,” joins us to discuss the Bavarian princess who was convinced that she had swallowed a glass piano. Our conversation covers everything from the fluctuating definitions of delusion to medieval nuns and the curative powers of spanking. Happy listening!
Notes:
Read Julia’s original newsletter about Princess Alexandra here (all of the images we discussed are also here!!) and check out Julia’s website and follow her on instagram to read more of her amazing work!
The books we mentioned are:
Victoria Shepherd’s A History of Delusions: The Glass King, A Substitute Husband and a Walking Corpse
Mike Jay’s A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine
Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven
and Jacqueline Jung’s chapter in History in the Comic Mode: Medieval Communities and the Matter of Person
Other images and links:
The Hall of Beauties at Nymphenburg Palace
The Visitation (Mary and Elizabeth with rock crystal wombs) at The Met
