I went in search of “our other Shakespeare” to find some of London’s less obvious theatre history. Meet Thomas Middleton just off the Elephant and Castle… open.substack.com/pub/shakespe...

HistFest is back! We’re thrilled to share details of HistFest 2026. From Ancient Greek naval commanders and Egyptian queens to the history of motherhood and LGBTQ+ social histories – this year, we bring you a raft of fascinating histories and speakers. Book now! histfest.org/histfest-2026/

📢Job: postdoctoral research officer📢 For 'Witchcraft politics (Hexenpolitik) across the sea. A new entangled history of #EarlyModern England and the Holy Roman Empire', led by Profs Alison Rowlands & Rita Voltmer. 🗃️ - 33 months - 0.8 FTE - Deadline 1 Feb www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQC497/s...

Congratulations to Professor Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social who has been awarded a three-year Major Research Fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust for her project: ‘Imperial bibliography: books, race and value’. Find out more about the project on our website:

So much happening this year. We would love to work with you. Join the conversation. ❤️ English Studies. 👇

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Our Special Issue @genderandhistory.bsky.social is now out!! Many congrats and thanks to stellar co-editors @writinghelena.bsky.social, Lisa Hellman & Rachel Jean-Baptiste, and to all our fabulous authors. Fab seeing all 140,000 words brought together! 🌟 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14680424...

One of this year's great thrills was getting to film a documentary on Gallaghers and the Gallagher surname (with a dollop of my own family history too) for TG4. Our episode of Sloinne is being broadcast again on Wednesday 17 December at 7.30pm (or streaming here): www.tg4.ie/en/player/on...

With quotes from @eicathomefinn.bsky.social@eicathomefinn.bsky.social and me on the importance of the return of some element of portability for REF2029. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/half-ha...

A lovely little thread about 'micro texts' - and, if you look closely at this picture, you'll notice no bee swarms here, so the charm actually works

'There’s no profound joy to be found in being the only one unwilling to leave the real world behind'. A fascinating piece from @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com on the live experience of not enjoying pro wrestling.

With a department research exchange coming up tomorrow, instead of a paper I’m delivering some new writing… as a board game! Hoping some conversation starters in here, following street encounters with a host of fascinating (real) playgoers from 1611. #CurtainBook

Please do have a look at our CFP on 'Difficult Collections' and consider submitting a proposal to Paper Trails. We have flexible formats, exciting content, and a commitment to open access publishing! (details at the link - any Qs get in touch!) #skystorians 🗃️

FAO You, if This is As You Like It

NEW ISSUE KLAXON: Shakespeare Bulletin 43.2 is now published via Project Muse! In this open-access issue, scholars and practitioners engage in conversations across time, media, and geographic distance. 📰: muse.jhu.edu/issue/55948

Friends, if you want to learn a bit more abt The Sweet Taste of Empire, watch this INCREDIBLE conversation with @triciamatthew.bsky.social w.bsky.social, Debapriya Sarkar, Jennifer Morgan, @kwazana.bsky.social & Tapiwa Gambura! www.youtube.com/live/a-Npxq-... Then you can buy it at 40% discount.

Out now! The Routledge Companion to Digital Humanities, ed. Constance Crompton, @raysiemens.bsky.social , Richard J. Lane, and myself And better yet? It's #openaccess! www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edi... Order hard copies here: www.routledge.com/The-Companio... Thanks to all contributors! 🎉

Exciting news! Next August I'll deliver a keynote lecture at the conference 'Carousels and Other Colonial Spectacles: Performing Race and Racialization at European Courts, ca. 1500-1700' at Copenhagen University, alongside Noémie Ndiaye. Call for papers is open now lnkd.in/e2ad7u7H (deadline 15/12)!

Very good news for people who like to plan ahead, but, like, backwards.

Join us online this Monday evening as Professor Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social – President of the Marlowe Society of America, and former President of the Australian & New Zealand Shakespeare Association  – uncovers the connections between ale houses and playhouses in early modern London.

Out now: "Digital Text Analysis and Early Shakespeare Bibliography: Using Voyant Tools with Bad OCR" www.digitalstudies.org/article/id/1...

PhD position, project: LangPro Women in the Early Modern Language Sector careers.universiteitleiden.nl/job/PhD-posi...

Voices of Thunder is one of ten books to look out for, according to Mathew Lyons in The Broken Compass 🤩 As he says, these “highly vocal women” have been “drowned out in much of the historiography” and make a “brilliant subject for a book”! 🌟 #earlymodern

‘What I'm saying is, these PhDs are not a new sign confirming the decline of civilisation. They are civilisation. This is at the core of what civilisations do.’ Delightful from @mscaitlinmoran.bsky.social where she shares her excitement about humanities research www.thetimes.com/article/09da...

Just your periodic reminder that there is an early modern pub night once a month for PhDs and ECRs and anyone else who'd like to join in London. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list please DM me.

NEXT WEEK! Come and celebrate Halloween with us at the #LowCountries seminar with a paper on the Synod of Dort! (there's a (holy) ghost involved ok 👻) with Dirk van Miert @huygensknaw.bsky.social FRI 31 OCT 17:30, @ihr.bsky.social or on zoom (register for link) #EarlyModern #AngloDutch #Skystorians

THIS IS WHAT WE CALL SOME PRETTY MAJUSCULE INFORMATION

As you dig out your chunky knitwear from the back of the draw, I know you are wondering: 'How did people prepare for winter 400 years ago?' Read today's post to find out (and whet your appetite for our new book The Experience of Work in Early Modern England) manyheadedmonster.com/2025/10/07/t...

Had a great time today chatting with @sixteenthcgirl.bsky.social for the Not Just the Tudors podcast on History Hit. Watch out next week for the episode on Voices of Thunder and radical 17th-century women!

As the first female Archbishop of Canterbury is appointed, it’s worth remembering that dissenting women were preaching to mixed sex congregations in London as early as 1645. My book Voices of Thunder has a whole section on 17th-century “she-preachers” #earlymodern

During the course of this year, I am available to give invited talks at Departmental seminars, symposia and the like. My research is now developed enough to shed new light on the role of walking in theatre history, but still pliant enough to benefit from the input of scholarly conversation.

An important thread making the case for books being better than ostriches as places to put words

Pretty momentous email to send just before lunch on a Monday morning. Second book appears to be...done! Watch this space for further news from me and @gregmw4.bsky.social as we approach publication.

A call for papers on 'Ritual Artefacts & their images for medieval liturgy' in Madrid next January with special focus on 'three main categories of liturgical artefacts' ritual objects (such as reliquaries, crosses, censers), vestments and liturgical books. eventos.urjc.es/137188/secti...

Question to Zach Polanski at the leadership announcement: "Q: How can you take on Nigel Farage when your policy on immigration is so different?" Everything wrong with British politics and media summed up so succinctly in a single absolutely unhinged question.

TEXTILE SHAKESPEARE has a COVER👀 (this is a late C16 embroidered coif - never in fact assembled - in the V&A. All the crazy scale with added big cats, like an acid trip As You Like It. I love that it is a bit stained and messy.) global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Tonight am watching Escape from New York, a film that poses a number of important questions, most of which are Wait, What is Going on with Kurt Russell's Trousers.

Possibly the last photo of the @leverhulme.ac.uk Bee-ing Human team, as we work to bring our project to conclusion later this year. We will share the url for our project site soon! @viveknityananda.bsky.social @oliviasmith.bsky.social @racheljwillie.bsky.social @sjjackson32.bsky.social

Katherine Steele Brokaw and Elizabeth Freestone *Performing Shakespeare on an Endangered Planet* Free to download until the end of today (18 July) www.cambridge.org/core/element...

📢JOBS: 2 postdoc research associate positions📢 On AHRC project 'Informing contemporary land use policy through sustainability assessment of farming systems' in pre-modern periods🗃️ - FT from 01/10/25 - #Medieval history (3 years) - #EarlyModern history (28 months) jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...

A privilege to stand on/over the Curtain playhouse stage again, and in its adjoining yard (thanks to an architect tour). Feeling very close to all those figures I’m writing about for the #CurtainBook, who were, naturally, so often to be found at these very spots too.

Very much this! 👇 it’s hard out here for creatives, share the good stuff when you can

This is very worth making the time for. And congratulations Professor Samson!

Excellent to see this call for papers for a conference bridging the gap between military, political, social & cultural approaches to conflict, war and violence in the #EarlyModern world. 🗃️ 👇

Sneak preview of the contents page for #VoicesofThunder - a roll call of the incredible 17th century women whose amazing stories I am lucky enough to tell in this book @reaktionbooks.bsky.social #earlymodern

📢WILL OF THE MONTH SPECIAL📢 The research and transcription for this new post are the fruits of a collaboration between two of our amazing Zooniverse volunteers! sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult... #EarlyModern 🗃️ @leverhulme.ac.uk @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social @uoearchhist.bsky.social

The weather today: illegally hot. Sort it out, sun.

I finally got around to uploading our 'About the Zoo' video to the wills project YouTube channel. Take a look for a quick introduction to the research from members of the team, for recordings of webinars and for guides to transcribing wills for us on Zooniverse. 🗃️ www.youtube.com/@MaterialWills

Been asked to share some speaking events I’m doing! First - WRITEABILITY’S Book Club and Craft Seminar for Writers! The program runs September 2025-March 2026. I will be the featured author for February www.writeability.org/bookclub