Episode

Ian Smith: Effie Gray & John Ruskin (A Very Victorian Scandal)

Podcast
The Way They Were
Published
Nov 25, 2025
Duration seconds
5164
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
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Audio
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JSON
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Markdown
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Summary

Effie Gray and John Ruskin looked like the perfect Victorian power couple: she, bright and brilliant; he, the era’s leading art critic. But behind the portraits was one of history’s strangest age-gap marriages. Unconsummated, uncomfortable, and the sort of story that would make Gen Z turn away in horror. This week on The Way They Were , Gráinne and Chantal team up with one of Britain’s best stand-ups, Ian Smith , to look at the grottiest couples we've ever looked at on the show. To get episodes ad free and early, join us our Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/TheWayTheyWere⁠⁠ You can also access our exclusive bonus episodes every other week and take part in The Gossip our exclusive Patreon group chat! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .