Howdy! It’s Women’s History Month, and we’re celebrating with another Round the Triangle local history podcast exploring the biography of Lady Frances Berkeley with the help of Amy Stallings, a William & Mary adjunct history professor who brings Lady Berkeley to life at Historic Jamestowne.

Leader of the “Green Spring” faction in 17th century Virginia politics, Lady Berkeley is viewed as unique among colonial women for the considerable amount of political influence she wielded, including in response to Bacon’s Rebellion. However, a focus of Amy’s interpretation of Lady Berkeley has been to go beyond her status as a political figure and share details about her ordinary life and what it was like to be a British woman living in Colonial Virginia. In this episode, we talk about the moments that defined Lady Berkeley’s political career, the importance of humility in teaching history, and how we can better empathize and understand historical women.

Don't miss Amy's next performance as Lady Berkeley, this Thursday at 2 PM at Historic Jamestowne! For more details and to view all future programs, visit Historic Jamestowne's calendar page. Amy also offers an excellent two-part "Women of Jamestown" tour that occurs regularly.

Have a question about Lady Berkeley?