Fern Riddell

Fern Riddell (/fɜːrn rɪˈdɛl/[1] FURN ri-DEL) (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
Occupation(s)Historian, 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 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.[2] 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".[2] Her doctoral degree was supervised by Paul Readman and Arthur Burns, and examined by Matthew Sweet.[3]

Career

Riddell is a cultural historian who specialises in sex, the suffragette movement and women's struggle for equality.[4][5][6] 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.[7]

Riddell extensively investigated the scrapbook of suffragette and birth control campaigner Kitty Marion.[8][9] The scrapbook contained stories of her hunger strikes, arson attacks and prison escapes.[8] Riddell has spoken about the sexual assault and harassment that Marion faced and how that fuelled her suffragette campaigning.[8][10]

In 2018, after tweeting that she was "Dr Fern Riddell" and not Miss, Riddell she was subject to criticism on Twitter.[11] To respond to those who deemed her arrogant and "immodest", she created the hashtag #ImmodestWomen, which saw thousands of women sharing their stories.[12] In 2019 Riddell hosted her own BBC Four television programme, A Victorian Scandal: The Rudest Book in Britain.[13] Riddell was a member of the Royal Holloway team on the 2019 University Challenge Christmas Special.[14]

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,[15][16] The Guardian,[17][18] The Huffington Post[19] and History Today. Riddell is active on social media, including Twitter (@FernRiddell) and Instagram (@fernriddell).

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