Mrs Lincoln had an insatiable glove habit. Cherie Blair had a contraceptive disaster. Norma Major woke up to find John’s advisors perched on her bed. No wonder people compare being a political spouse to living in a “goldfish bowl”.

So how have the wives of presidents and prime ministers dealt with the pressure of press scrutiny, philandering husbands and the need to keep the banisters spotless? The answers range from reading the astrology charts of World leaders, to taking a lesbian lover: Anything to get a great political wife away from the circus surrounding her partner.

For two decades, Great Lives on Radio 4 has explored what it takes to change the world. But Helen Lewis wants to ask a different question: what does it take to live with someone who changes the world? In the second season of Great Wives, we’ll meet more fascinating women - and men - and uncover the relationships that created great art, started wars and changed history.

Written and performed by Helen Lewis with additional voices from Kudzanayi Chiwawa & Joshua Higgott
Producer: Gwyn Rhys Davies
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Design: Neil Goody

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