What would it have really been like to visit a Victorian freak show? Were "freak performers" exploited, or empowered in a world that would likely have otherwise rejected them? And has the Victorian freak show ever really gone away?

Joining Kate today is John Woolf, author of The Wonders: Lifting the Curtain on the Freak Show, Circus and Victorian Age, to take us back to this world and explore its dark side.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy, the producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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The Dark History of Bearded Ladies & the Victorian Freak Show 39:00 Share

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

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The Dark History of Bearded Ladies & the Victorian Freak Show