I made a whole BBC TV series (2020) about the remarkable resilience of the people of Iran and their culture over centuries of threat and callous rule. You can watch it right here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Happy to share the first in a new series of mini videos exploring history, folklore and books. Hope you enjoy! 🧚 www.instagram.com/reel/DW3XJRK...

OH. MY. GOD. THIS IS THE MILKY WAY SHOT BY THE ARTEMIS II CREW. LOOK AT ALL THOSE STARS!!!!

The ease with which this is said and reported is so sickening. Donald Trump says ‘a whole civilisation will die’ if Iran ignores demands www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

SLEUTH-HOUND isn't even out yet (Oct 20!), but here go. 😅 Thrilled to announce ETHER WARS—the story of anesthesia's discovery in the 1840s & the fierce battle over credit. When a discovery changes the world, who, if anyone, can claim it as their own? Thanks to my agent @dconaway99.bsky.social!

And here’s the eclipse photo from Artemis II. I am in tears.

I’ll be hosting a fab conversation about the Brontës… also, MICHAEL PALIN!!

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold it would be a merrier world.” Thorin Oakenshield, The Hobbit.

Just read an account of an unnamed 19th century scholar who claimed that he had to buy a bigger hat every few years because the more he studied the larger his head grew.

Psst… have a new book out in October! SLEUTH-HOUND tells the story of Scottish surgeon Joseph Bell, who inspired Sherlock Holmes. Expect Victorian forensics, Jack the Ripper, and even a ballistics expert named Dr. Watson. Follow me on Goodreads for more updates! www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

“Fun fact: these guys aren’t actually slaves” And that, my friends, is reason number 283638393 to be furious with the AI historian girlbots being churned out by creepy techbro men.

Explore the extraordinary stories of injured veterans, widows and orphans of the British civil wars that have been uncovered through the work of the Civil War Petitions Project! 🔗 Use the link below to access the key findings of the project by Professor Andrew Hopper and Dr Ismini Pells

If early modern history and pop culture are your things, come and join me over on instagram. I’m doing what I’ve never done before - planning posts (I refuse to call it ‘content’) in advance! There are some fascinating little stories coming up. 🧚 😇 🗡️ 📜 🐉 www.instagram.com/rebeccaridea...

If early modern history and pop culture are your things, come and join me over on instagram. I’m doing what I’ve never done before - planning posts (I refuse to call it ‘content’) in advance! There are some fascinating little stories coming up. 🧚 😇 🗡️ 📜 🐉 www.instagram.com/rebeccaridea...

📣 HISTFEST 2026 BRITISH LIBRARY | 18-19 APRIL There’s still time to grab your tickets to the most exciting history festival in London. Speakers include Sir Michael Palin, Ruth Goodman, Raksha Dave, Greg Jenner and many more! BOOK NOW! histfest.org/histfest-2026/

Am I alone in being a little uncomfortable with my future work being digitised / available on Kindle? I just feel like it’s offering it up to be stolen by AI (and I love my Kindle!)

Oh my days I am so very busy with a million things. Send help!

Happy Trans Day of Visibility. Here is a report from my recent trip to Rome where, in ancient times, trans people were very visible indeed. www.cheryl-morgan.co...

William III did indeed successfully invade England in 1688.

In 1931, Tolkien pushed to have Shakespeare taken off his part of the English syllabus in Oxford.

“People in Parliament now occupy themselves with private animosities and party quarrels and think little of the national interest” William III - 1697

“The situation in the #WestBank is absolutely appalling,” UNRWA Commissioner-General tells @‌zeteo.com’s @mehdirhasan.bsky.social While violence is escalating in the region, #Palestine Refugees continue to be exposed to immense hardship across the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

NEED: Rivendell to be a real place I can retreat to for a few days.

NEW: Wikipedia has banned AI-generated content.

This midwifery text covers not only childbirth but menopause and menstruation as well. Like most writers in the 1600s, its author Jane Sharp used euphemistic language for these taboo subjects. She referred to menstruation as ‘the flowers’ Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

Recording things… secrets, secrets

There are two brilliant and chilling pieces in the Guardian this morning. The first is this one, which lays bare the horrific massacres in El-Fasher last October, and the UK & US failures (and implacable UAE support for the RSF) that allowed them to happen. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

'His journals would become famed for their vivid detail and candour. But now, almost exactly 360 years after diarist Samuel Pepys chronicled the Great Fire of London, new research has found that he “erased” and “curated” correspondence to conceal he had been offered an enslaved boy as a bribe.' 1/2

Musketeer d'Artagnan's remains believed found under Dutch church - BBC News share.google/eOyHc3oF4eBp...

Ah, insomnia, my old friend

Couldn’t agree with this more. People love to use semantics to knock womens’ writing down a peg or two. We saw it with ‘chick lit’, we’re seeing it again now.

‘You boy! What the fuck is going on with the weather?’

This actually sounds like a rather sweet idea from Colbert.

BREAKING: live footage from Heaven right now.

How many history books do YOU own? Join us for HistFest 2026 British Library | 18-19 April Book your tickets now! histfest.org/histfest-2026/ #HistoryFestival #History #historybooks #HistFest

I describe it as such as a historian of disability because I want to remind scientists and the world that the history of science IS the history of eugenics, scientific racism and medical racism, and more. I’m not comforting them with the idea that it was a ‘pseudoscience.’ This is your history.

📣 FOUR WEEKS TODAY!! Don’t forget to get your tickets to #HistFest2026 at the @britishlibrary.bsky.social Book now histfest.org/histfest-2026/

WOW! What a find - Anning writing to someone unknown, potentially referencing another female collector... "But was so worn out after you saw me that I almost wish'd that I might never see a Lady again and the name of fossils makes me sick with its concominants [sic]..." Pls support!

Woman's boned bodice, 1660s, ivory satin, trimmed with bobbin lace with parchment & coloured silk (V&A Museum, London)

Londoners: James II has fled to France, what do we do now? William of Orange: …

Shout out to everyone else who’s utterly knackered and grumpy today.

I have been so caught up with #JhalakPrize longlists that I forgot to share this brilliant news. My book #Refuge is now out as audiobook & available at Audible, Spotify, and major audiobook platforms. Happy publication day to me 😊 rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/97...

📣 BIRTH, MOTHERHOOD & CUSTODY – AN UNTOLD HISTORY 11AM, SUN 19 APRIL | BRITISH LIBRARY Join Prof. Lara Feigel and Lucy Inglis to explore how the overlooked histories of motherhood and custody. Chaired by Prof. Pragya Agarwal. Part of #HistFest2026 histfest.org/histfest-2026/

The paperback for Victoria’s Secret - revealing my 4 year investigation into Queen Victoria’s passionate love affair with John Brown and a hidden family archive kept secret for 150+ years - is just 99 p on kindle for the WHOLE of March lnk.to/victoriassecretbook

‘Old masters too’: Ghent exhibition celebrates female artists of the baroque www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

‘How can I do better?’: Michael B Jordan’s Oscar win for Sinners is a deserved reward for an outstanding actor www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ma...

One of the great ironies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is that the bourgeois monopoly of ‘high’ culture was broken down by Capitalism rather than Marxism. Discuss.

Literally the greatest PR campaign in all of history.

I wrote a new essay on Mississippi Delta culture in Ryan Coogler’s movie, SINNERS, published today in MS Now