The Fake Princess Who Fooled Georgian England

What you'll hear in today's episode is a story that strikes to the dark heart of the British Empire.

Despite being set in the time of Jane Austen's early 19th century polite society, Princess Caraboo's strange tale makes her an instant celebrity.

But how much of it, if any, is true? Where does it lead? And what happens when the truth is a lot darker than the lie?

Joining Kate today is the wonderful Dr. Maddy Pelling, co-host of After Dark and author of Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment, to reveal the truth behind Princess Caraboo.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.