The story behind the scenes: Lady Carnarvon and Emily Howes talk about the Painter's Daughters

I’m delighted to welcome the novelist Emily Howes to the castle to talk about her book The Painter’s Daughters, inspired by Gainsborough’s portraits of his two girls and the striking shift from their lively childhood images to a stiffer, unhappier adulthood. Emily shares how she researched 18th-century Bath, its muddy, smelly, party-like medical culture, through visits and sources such as James Hamilton’s biography, Letters from Bath, and books on travel, while noting how little survives from the daughters’ own voices. We discuss Molly’s documented illness and Emily’s discovery of a possible porphyria link to the Prince of Wales, as well as Gainsborough’s finances, his wife’s hidden savings, and the sisters’ relationship, which Emily likens to Downton Abbey’s sister dynamics. Emily also previews her next novel, Mrs Dickens, exploring Catherine Dickens’s erasure after Dickens left her for Ellen Turner and the fate of their children. 00:46 Why the Daughters 03:20 Bath After Covid 05:57 Money and Marriage 08:18 Research and Sources 09:27 Molly Illness Mystery 12:21 Sisters and Downton 16:05 Blue Boy and Imagination 17:25 Gainsborough at Highclere 22:23 Next Book Mrs Dickens 24:35 Dickens Family Fallout 27:53 Catherine After Separation You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

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The story behind the scenes: Lady Carnarvon and Emily Howes talk about the Painter's Daughters is an episode from Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcast by Highclere Media.

This episode is 30:07 long.

This episode was published on Mar 31, 2026.

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