Catherine Clarke
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cathamclarke.bsky.social
Catherine Clarke
@cathamclarke.bsky.social
6.5K followers 3.3K following 2.4K posts
Writer, academic. Professor & Director @chppc.bsky.social & @vch-home.bsky.social. Beach hut days. New book: #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, Penguin Allen Lane, 04.09.25.
https://www.catherineclarke.info/ / https://www.history.ac.uk/people/catherine-clarke
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cathamclarke.bsky.social
Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · Aug 7
You can now 'look inside' my new #history book on the Penguin website! Read the introduction and first chapters, see the list of poems and moments in history I explore, and discover the wormhole which inspired this particular kind of time travel...
www.penguin.co.uk/books/461263...
A History of England in 25 Poems by Catherine Clarke - cover image
cathamclarke.bsky.social
The poem on my heart today: #Adlestrop, by Edward Thomas. A moment of stillness at a deserted railway station in the summer of 1914: written in early 1915, and published in spring 1917, just days after Second Lieutenant Edward Thomas, Royal Garrison Artillery, was killed at the Battle of Arras.
Yes. I remember Adlestrop— The name, because one afternoon Of heat the express-train drew up there Unwontedly. It was late June. The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat. No one left and no one came On the bare platform. What I saw Was Adlestrop—only the name And willows, willow-herb, and grass, And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry, No whit less still and lonely fair Than the high cloudlets in the sky. And for that minute a blackbird sang Close by, and round him, mistier, Farther and farther, all the birds Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
November 11, 2025 at 11:56 AM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
There's still time to get your copy and join us for a #TimeTravelAdvent! 25 chapters = a few minutes of immersive time travel for each day in December, leading up to (and including) Christmas Day. I'll be sharing posts on here every day, too. #AdventCalendar #book #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
November 10, 2025 at 4:20 PM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
Lovely to be a #Christmas gift pick for #poetry lovers at @foylesforbooks.bsky.social!
(Pssst - the #history buffs in your life would love it too!)

#AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
That Sunday evening feeling...
Kingston Lacy this afternoon.
November 9, 2025 at 7:08 PM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
Another thoughtful review of my book, from a different perspective, in magazine The Critic. (Medievalists: I do discuss the new findings on Chaucer and 'raptus' at length, but note that we still can't know if abuse or coercion took place.)
thecritic.co.uk/issues/novem...
Lyrical wormholes into the past | Bijan Omrani | The Critic Magazine
“Poems,” says Catherine Clarke at the end of the first chapter of this new book, “can be unreliable witnesses to the past.”
thecritic.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 9:20 AM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
Every year we tell Dad we reckon it's the best #bonfire ever. But this year, I think it really was... ❤️🔥🎆
November 8, 2025 at 8:10 PM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
A full spectrum of #swans in #Christchurch today!
A black swan on the river Two white swans on a small pond
November 7, 2025 at 7:48 PM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
When you have to nip to the shops, so get the ferry across the river - and there's a passenger without a ticket... #Christchurch #WickFerry #Stour #seagull
Photo of a seagull sitting on a small boat
November 7, 2025 at 3:40 PM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
This is a humble request for a favour. If you've read my new book, A History of England in 25 Poems - thank you so much! I would be so grateful if you could take a few minutes to leave an honest review online. Thank you 🙏😊
Picture of the book cover for A History of England in 25 Poems, with text: 'Poems, most especially, have the power to open a direct portal between us and moments in the past. Poems aren't just a bridge to the events of history, but into the experiences, emotions and imaginations of those people living and breathing through it.'
November 7, 2025 at 9:20 AM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
I like my #WilliamMorris notebook but am persistently troubled by the floorplan implied in the logo (on every page). What does William keep at home in the tiny windowless room without a door? Is the large space without an entrance useful / beautiful? This distracts me a lot in meetings.
Notebook with William Morris pattern cover Logo reading "William Morris at home" on a sort of floor plan
November 6, 2025 at 8:33 PM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
Want to hear me say 'buttocks', 'cock and balls', 'vulva', 'farting' & 'flatulence', for FREE? Listen to my #audiobook preview on Am*zon! Has the algorithm been making mischief with its sample selection? I think so! (The preview on Google is just the Introduction, which probably makes more sense...)
The audiobook preview for A History of England in 25 Poems
November 6, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Reposted by Catherine Clarke
lrylandepton.bsky.social
Had an amazing day at the Courtauld Gallery followed by @cathamclarke.bsky.social giving a lecture on ‘radical’ popular history @ihr.bsky.social What a combination!
November 4, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Reposted by Catherine Clarke
historyandpolicy.bsky.social
In the @ihr.bsky.social Historical Research annual lecture this evening, my colleague @cathamclarke.bsky.social asks ‘can popular History be radical?’ (Short answer - Yes!)
November 4, 2025 at 5:48 PM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
Selected History Day swag! What an incredible buzz and an amazing opportunity to explore archives and collections from across the UK, right here in Senate House. Thank you @ihrlibrary.bsky.social and @senatehouselib.bsky.social! #HistDay25
Badges, flyers, postcards, bookmarks and a book
November 4, 2025 at 2:58 PM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
An inadvertently Bay City Rollers look for my Historical Research Lecture @ihr.bsky.social today...
November 4, 2025 at 11:49 AM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
Looks like this is a thing! The US edition of my book, coming on August 4, 2026, with Pegasus Books. More info:
www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Hist...
(PS not actually my 'first book', but the others were academic ones...) #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems #history #poetry #book #new
Book cover for the US edition of A History of England in Twenty-Five Poems by Catherine Clarke. The background image is AN OLD BRIDGE AT HENDON, MIDDLESEX, by Frederick Waters Watts, 1828, British painting, oil on canvas.
November 3, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Catherine Clarke
backlisted.bsky.social
Hallowe'en special up now. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, with guests Andrew Male and Laura Varnam in conversation with Una McCormack and Andy Miller. 🌬️🎃🧟 @andrewmale.bsky.social @drlauravarnam.bsky.social @unamccormack.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/0Zde...
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
open.spotify.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:18 AM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
I'm very much looking forward to giving this #public #lecture at CCCU in #Canterbury on Wednesday 26 November. All very welcome - book your free place via the link:
www.canterbury.ac.uk/events/2025/...
@cccubookshop.bsky.social #history #book #event #free
Poster for the event. Information at: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/events/2025/a-history-of-england-in-25-poems Poster for the event with bio and talk abstract. Available at: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/events/2025/a-history-of-england-in-25-poems
November 3, 2025 at 9:42 AM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
I began my morning singing the Faure Requiem for All Souls Day at #Christchurch Priory. An incredibly powerful service of lifting up sadness, memory, thankfulness and hope. When words run out, music and liturgy are a gift. #AllHallows #AllSouls
My copy of the Requiem music, held up with a view of the Priory nave beyond.
November 1, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Catherine Clarke
hagenilda.bsky.social
As @cathamclarke.bsky.social said to me the other week; it’s clear there’s a NEED for history - just look around you. But there’s a disconnect between that and the realisation that there’s a need to train historians.
benpohl.bsky.social Prof. Ben Pohl @benpohl.bsky.social · 10d
I think it’s even worse: the lack of recognition that there even *is* such a thing as professional training in historical research!
November 1, 2025 at 9:52 AM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
I'm delighted to be doing this #free #online #event with @englishassociation.bsky.social on Tuesday 9 December. What can we do with a poem, and where can close reading take us? Please share! #poetry #teaching #English #closereading #unseenpoetry #poem #teachers
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/adventures...
Adventures in Close Reading Poetry with A History of England in 25 Poems
This webinar explores new ways into poetry analysis and ‘unseen poetry’
www.eventbrite.co.uk
October 31, 2025 at 11:27 AM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
Is this the most beautiful thing @britishmuseum.bsky.social? Whenever I visit, it takes my breath away - pure magic. Gold oak wreath with a bee and two cicadas, 350-300 BC. Exact provenance unclear (unethical trading and collecting practices in the early 20thC). www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
Detail of the wreath: gold oak leaves and acorns, with a gold bee Gold oak leaves and acorns on the wreath The full wreath, in its glass exhibit case
October 31, 2025 at 9:18 AM
cathamclarke.bsky.social
A spooky story from the Victoria County History archive (or is it...?). A tribute to M R James and the world of the early VCH, which I first shared on 31 October last year - I hope you enjoy it. #Halloween @vch-home.bsky.social

blog.history.ac.uk/2024/10/vch-...
VCH Ghost Story - On History
With the nights drawing in, it’s the season for storytelling. This curious and disconcerting letter was found recently in the archive of the Victoria County History of England (addressed to then-Gener...
blog.history.ac.uk
October 31, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Reposted by Catherine Clarke
vch-home.bsky.social
#ICYMI - we are celebrating the publication of our 250th #BigRedBook, and our first publication for the historic county of #Westmorland.

In September we had an event to mark this and to place the volume in the context of the series and to showcase the extraordinary work behind it. #Skystorians
Celebrating Local and Place-Based History: Westmorland and the 250th VCH ‘Big Red Book’
People, Place and Community Seminar
www.history.ac.uk
October 30, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Reposted by Catherine Clarke
chppc.bsky.social
The @ihr.bsky.social #London #SummerSchool 2026 is now booking! This year's theme: 'Sickness & Health'. From the Black Death to Covid-19, from archive treasures to special visits and the ethics of researching our recent history. 10% discount code! Info at: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/... #history
From the Black Death to the Covid-19 pandemic, from medieval medicine to public health across the centuries, from hospitals to archives and collections and from the politics of wellbeing to the ethics of researching our very recent history....Join us to discover London’s histories of disease, care and cure through lectures, workshops, trips and visits. This course is suitable for anyone seeking to develop their historical knowledge or skills and discover history, from researchers and students, to heritage professionals and all those with a personal interest in history. Joining an IHR short course is a way to get involved in the IHR community, and we encourage all participants to become members of the IHR Library. 22-26 June 2026, IHR, Senate House, London 10% discount with code HEALTH10 https://www.history.ac.uk/news-events/events/ihr-london-summer-school-26-sickness-health
October 30, 2025 at 10:13 AM