Did we mention you can still become a member for ~EXTRA~ fun stuff? Our book clubs remain FREE bright spot in 2026, but members get a little something special! payhip.com/PeculiarBook...

Now we are in 2026 I can properly celebrate that my new book on Some Like If Hot is out this year. So will celebrate with cocktails from this book that have had since the 90s.

Now we are in 2026 I can properly celebrate that my new book on Some Like If Hot is out this year. So will celebrate with cocktails from this book that have had since the 90s.

Happy New Year, Touchstone style.

Nick is a wonderful historian and I love his stories and images.

A lot of what I wrote this year is related to a book, but I did get this story up @thenation.com on Billy Wilder and his lifelong struggle coming to terms with the loss of his family in the Holocaust and his changing views on Zionism. bsky.app/profile/bens...

I always like my archives to come with a warning.

Latest issue of Notes from a Science Historian is out! Check it out for: Book news What I'm reading New Year's resolutions A teaser about an upcoming subscribers-only essay (subscribing is free): the backstory to my recent Smithsonian Magazine essay. #earlymodern #histsci 🗃 #arthistory 1/

It’s not often you see adverts for the cosmetic brand Radior in the wild and even less often when used to make a point about something.

Stayed up late watching a concert of my favourite band from 1990 (still have it on VHS but watched on YouTube), now going to meet my best friend from school to go clothes and record shopping.

Oh no. It’s finally happened. I have a DM that I cannot view. The notification thingy is going to bug me isn’t it?

My latest publication 'The gender bias in NIVEA® sunscreen advertisements in Sweden: A transhistorical perspective' is now out with Critical Studies in Fashion and Beauty. Co-authored with Lame Kenalemang-Palm. doi.org/10.1386/csfb... @makeupmuseum.org @lucyjanesantos.bsky.social

Third topic for this talk has now been decided! It's going to be Orient Express, Queen Mary and Concorde and we are going to trace a journey from check in to arrival for each. Tickets via New York Adventure Club www.nyadventureclub.com/event/197777...

A little note that I a) have a newsletter b) plan to actually send monthly mailings in 2026. January's will feature a round up of the surprising histories I have recently uncovered & a sneak peek at the AMAZING front cover for Nobody's Perfect: The Making of Some Like It Hot (Aug 2026).

Hey maybe you would like a safe place to just read and talk about books and be weird? Here you go: peculiarbookclub.com

This is so precisely at the intersection of my research interests - clubs, wellness, prohibition, quackery, weird restaurant concepts - but hope I never go there!

From the archives of All Things Georgian, 'Depilation for women in 1700s' - wp.me/p3JTNy-7bJ

Love that this train service has two tickets that are called almost the same thing, cost the same price and have vastly different restrictions. I bought the wrong one and am the wrong train but the guard let me get away with it because someone has just been sick on him. Travelling is magical. ❤️

Our special issue has now been assigned a volume! You can catch up with the editorial and all six articles here. Two more to go - one by me on 'dishpan hands' and one by @lucyjanesantos.bsky.social on radium. www.emerald.com/jhrm/issue/1... #cosmetics #marketing #advertisements

Ooh just spent a very pleasant few hours choosing (and buying licenses- not so much fun) for the images in my next book. Love the feeling when it starts coming together.

URGENT SPEAKER NEEDED! Last-minute cancellation for a luxury Crystal Cruises voyage (Crystal Symphony, Jan 5-18, 2026). ​Seeking an expert to deliver 6 lectures on Africa/Indian Ocean (Mombasa to Mumbai itinerary). Send topics to: [email protected] ​#CruiseSpeaker

Well that was (disorganised on my part) efficiency. Less than half an hour from a message reminding me of flu jab app to a mad rush to getting it to being back home.

Promise to myself - if I ever sell a book proposal for a decent amount of money am treating myself to these. Have been top of my wish list since the 80s.

It’s me in real life looking at me on a screen in an exhibition (at London Transport Museum). Very surreal and very odd but very fun!

It’s me in real life looking at me on a screen in an exhibition (at London Transport Museum). Very surreal and very odd but very fun!

Some Like It Hot at #2 - not saying if I agree or not but was interested to see its position in 2025.

Love a hairstyle history and this is so interesting!

Nominations are open for the BSHS Pickstone Prize 2026, recognising the best scholarly English-language book in the history of science. 📆 Deadline: 31 Jan 2026. Anyone may nominate (self-nominations welcome). Submit via our online form on the BSHS website www.bshs.org.uk/the-bshs-pic...

Early Career Researchers wanted! Apply to speak/perform at next year's British Science Festival #BSF26. We'll be at the University of Southampton. Award Lectures are available in seven areas incl. social sciences, and seek to highlight the interdisciplinarity of science, research and innovation:

Yikes. Just seen a film of my face that is going be played on a loop at a major museum exhibition until at least 2027 and my overriding thought is - should have worn more eyeliner! #tiredhistorian

A quick update, because writing about my book was easier than actually writing the book today 🥊🤜🏻🤛🏾 Okay, back in the attic she goes... grapplingwithhistory.com/2025/11/15/t...

'New Threats. New Era. New Season.' (New Poster) Season II of A Thousand Blows streams 9 Jan 2026. The completely unaffiliated, unconnected, in no way endorsed by Disney, book with the true stories of Hezekiah Moscow, Alec Munroe, Sugar Goodson - THE DEVIL'S DANCEFLOOR - is published in Oct 😅👊🏻

Oh but I did enjoy reading this.

Revealed: Hidden dangers behind trend of tanning drops, sprays and injections www.channel4.com/news/reveale...

Heads up 😅 Sex Matters have launched their own MP letter-writing campaign insisting on trans segregation, an exclusionary Code etc etc 📝Let’s make sure our letters outnumber theirs+++ Template here! If you’ve already written, grab a mate & get them to write too 🤗 actionnetwork.org/letters/scra...

You know you are in for a treat when the @gailmyerscough.co.uk delivery arrives

Honestly I cannot get over it - my name on a book cover, next to the name of my favourite film (well the book is about it so yeah!) and with a picture of the main cast. Weeping ❤️❤️

Was in a grump this morning but just seen the cover of my next book and it is STUNNING. Can’t wait to share!

Oh so delighted this is out! If you are interested in beauty history - especially the marketing of it - please do check this out (and the rest of the articles too - although there are still two more to come!)

URGENT CRUISE SPEAKER NEEDED! 🚨 ​Past Preservers has an immediate opening for an expert lecturer on a 25-day Oceania Amazon & Caribbean Voyage (departs Nov 12th). www.oceaniacruises.com/cruises/INS2... ​Includes Plus One & Double Airfare! ​Contact us NOW with 8 proposed lecture titles!

If you love Marilyn (and Jack, Tony and the rest) and want to know more about the making of Some Like It Hot you are in luck as I have a new IG for that www.instagram.com/makingslih

A movie you've seen more than 7 times with a gif. (I mean it’s got to be - have watched more than 7 times in the lead up to my deadline)

If you love Marilyn (and Jack, Tony and the rest) and want to know more about the making of Some Like It Hot you are in luck as I have a new IG for that www.instagram.com/makingslih

What a wonderful resource.

But on the other hand they played a right 90 min set and we were out, on the train and back home by 11. Perfect!

The horror - am at a concert and the band am here to see do not start till 9.15

Very proud to have worked on Season II as a consultant along with @hallierubenhold.bsky.social! As with the first one: characters are inspired by real people but VERY much fictionalised. All storylines, too. Want the real Hezekiah, Alec and Sugar? THE DEVIL'S DANCEFLOOR - Duckworth - Oct 2026 📕🥊

Interested in the history of Seven Dials or London or the 1920s and 1930s? I'm doing some walking tours of the Dials with @stanfordstravel.bsky.social on Sat 15 Nov. There's loads to see, but Seven Dials is so small you don't need to walk far. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/events/songs...

Am so looking forward to 2026 and celebrating all things Marilyn. There are some great exhibitions planned and my book #NobodysPerfect is also coming out too. 👇 is at the NPG.

Am so looking forward to 2026 and celebrating all things Marilyn. There are some great exhibitions planned and my book #NobodysPerfect is also coming out too. 👇 is at the NPG.