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.

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).