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Kentucky Chronicles: A Podcast of the Kentucky Historical SocietyAuthor: Kentucky Historical Society
Podcast by Kentucky Historical Society Language: en Genres: History Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Tale of a Gilded Age Female Spy | Dr. Elizabeth DeWolfe
Friday, 6 February, 2026
Back on Season 1 of Kentucky Chronicles, we were joined by Elizabeth De Wolfe, who discussed her research on Madeleine Pollard. Pollard rose to national prominence in 1894 when she sued Kentucky Congressman William C.P. Breckinridge for breach of promise. During the trial in Washington, DC, Breckinridge’s legal team hired an undercover detective named Jane Tucker to spy on Pollard. Join us today for another discussion with Professor DeWolfe, who has written a book on Pollard, Tucker, and the world of female detective culture in the late nineteenth century. Dr. Elizabeth De Wolfe is Professor of History and co-founder of the Women's and Gender Studies Program at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. She holds a PhD in American and New England Studies from Boston University. Dr. DeWolfe recovers the stories of ordinary women who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Her first work, Shaking the Faith, looked at the anti-Shaker campaign of former Shaker Mary Marshall Dyer and was researched, in part, in Kentucky. Her award-winning book The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories documented the short life and sad death of a New England textile mill operative. And her recent book, Alias Agnes: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy, returned DeWolfe to Kentucky to research the life of Madeleine Pollard, mistress of Congressman WCP Breckinridge, and her encounter with a stenographer turned Gilded Age Spy. Hosted by Dr. Allen A. Fletcher, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society. https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation. https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, with support and guidance from Dr. Stephanie Lang. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary,” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website: https://history.ky.gov/ https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts
