Born John Cooper, "Princess Seraphina" was one of the first English Drag Queens. Princess Seraphina was an 18th-century gentleman’s servant who openly embraced her feminine drag persona. But in May 1732, a man named Thomas Gordon robbed her of her clothes and money. The court case that followed was astounding. Today Anthony Delaney takes Kate Lister back to the riotous streets of 18th-century London. Anthony's book Queer Georgians is out now in paperback. https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/460692/queer-georgians-by-delaney-anthony/9781804993934 0:00 Introduction 1:00 Kate takes over the podcast 2:16 Who was Princess Seraphina? 4:21 18th-century London's Strand 6:04 What was a Molly and the Georgian subculture? 6:51 The stakes and danger of the 1726 Mother Clap trials 7:48 Navigating public visibility in the queer Georgian community 9:43 Naming rituals and the history of drag vs trans identity 11:51 The origins of camp and the challenge of historical records 13:56 Camaraderie and allyship with London sex workers 15:36 Was Princess Seraphina adjacent to the sex trade? 17:25 The scandalous Old Bailey trial of 1732 20:03 What happened the night John Cooper was robbed? 26:25 Taken to court for stolen clothes 31:02 Witness statements: Her Highness and the community bubble 37:42 What happened to Princess Seraphina after the trial? Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick. Produced by Vilde Øksnes. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. #HistoryHitPodcast #AfterDark