Mathew Lyons
@mathewlyons.bsky.social
Writer, historian. FRHistS. Recent work: History Today, The Spectator, Slightly Foxed, New Humanist, Engelsberg Ideas.
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
On 14 November 1848 the Fox sisters conjured up a movement when they made contact with the dead – or so they claimed.
✍️ Mathew Lyons explains
www.historytoday.com/archive/mont...
✍️ Mathew Lyons explains
www.historytoday.com/archive/mont...
The Birth of Spiritualism
www.historytoday.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:07 AM
On 14 November 1848 the Fox sisters conjured up a movement when they made contact with the dead – or so they claimed.
✍️ Mathew Lyons explains
www.historytoday.com/archive/mont...
✍️ Mathew Lyons explains
www.historytoday.com/archive/mont...
This is excellent from @stephenkb.bsky.social on the problems at BBC News and its "culture of sloppiness and… flight from detail".
www.ft.com/content/676c...
www.ft.com/content/676c...
To fix the BBC, focus on competence and cash
Corporation fails to learn from criticism, while politicians have consciously reduced its scope for quality journalism
www.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:06 AM
This is excellent from @stephenkb.bsky.social on the problems at BBC News and its "culture of sloppiness and… flight from detail".
www.ft.com/content/676c...
www.ft.com/content/676c...
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
That said, the BBC's coverage of its own problem does reveal a deeper issue in its political analysis, which is the seriousness of problems being assessed in terms of the impact of their revelation, not the underlying scandal. i.e. this is a 'big problem' because the DG's gone, not vice versa.
November 10, 2025 at 9:46 AM
That said, the BBC's coverage of its own problem does reveal a deeper issue in its political analysis, which is the seriousness of problems being assessed in terms of the impact of their revelation, not the underlying scandal. i.e. this is a 'big problem' because the DG's gone, not vice versa.
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
Hetan has a point. Not only is the crisis at the BL a story but so is the general threat to our whole data/info infrastructure. No point doing stories about misinformation and the latest AI chatbot unless you are covering this.
Turns out this news was in the public domain yesterday but no one has covered it as far as I can tell. Does no one care about our national library anymore? It was much the same with the cyberattack. If this was a bit of 'science' infrastructure can you imagine?
www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...
www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...
British Library chief executive quits midway through PCS strike
The British Library has been thrown into further turmoil midway through a two-week PCS strike with the resignation of its chief executive Rebecca Lawrence.
www.pcs.org.uk
November 4, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Hetan has a point. Not only is the crisis at the BL a story but so is the general threat to our whole data/info infrastructure. No point doing stories about misinformation and the latest AI chatbot unless you are covering this.
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the brilliant @cathfletcher.bsky.social
The writer’s bookshelf: Catherine Fletcher
Eight questions about writers, books, and reading…
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:41 AM
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the brilliant @cathfletcher.bsky.social
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
“It’s both funny and serious. The speaker’s a shit. That’s always serious.” Philip Larkin joins the culture wars. jwikeley.substack.com/p/solemn-sin...
Solemn-sinister wreath-rubbish
Philip Larkin and the politics of forgetting
jwikeley.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:56 AM
“It’s both funny and serious. The speaker’s a shit. That’s always serious.” Philip Larkin joins the culture wars. jwikeley.substack.com/p/solemn-sin...
Delighted to be at the launch of @historylauren.bsky.social's new biography of the extraordinary Margaret Beaufort last night. Lauren’s such a brilliant writer and historian. I can’t wait to read it!
November 6, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Delighted to be at the launch of @historylauren.bsky.social's new biography of the extraordinary Margaret Beaufort last night. Lauren’s such a brilliant writer and historian. I can’t wait to read it!
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
I can't be the first academic to go with the "Marvell's Comic Universe" line, surely.
profadamroberts.substack.com/p/carping-at...
profadamroberts.substack.com/p/carping-at...
Carping at Coyness
Marvell's comic universe
profadamroberts.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:43 AM
I can't be the first academic to go with the "Marvell's Comic Universe" line, surely.
profadamroberts.substack.com/p/carping-at...
profadamroberts.substack.com/p/carping-at...
This is one of my favourite pieces - written for Slightly Foxed a couple of years ago. A joy to write and research. (Which is why I'm currently researching her some more!) mathewlyons.substack.com/p/the-acid-t...
The acid-tongued ambassadress
The indomitable Lady Walburga Paget, our woman at the nineteenth-century courts of imperial Europe
mathewlyons.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:44 AM
This is one of my favourite pieces - written for Slightly Foxed a couple of years ago. A joy to write and research. (Which is why I'm currently researching her some more!) mathewlyons.substack.com/p/the-acid-t...
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
It was lovely to attend the launch this evening of Margaret Beaufort: Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker by the fabulous @historylauren.bsky.social A great evening and I’m sure that the book will do really well! #margaretbeaufort
November 5, 2025 at 10:10 PM
It was lovely to attend the launch this evening of Margaret Beaufort: Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker by the fabulous @historylauren.bsky.social A great evening and I’m sure that the book will do really well! #margaretbeaufort
Filing this under grimly funny.
Ever the details man, Boris Johnson evokes a non-existent 'massacre of Jews in London in 1066' while speaking at Auschwitz.
www.thejc.com/news/politic...
www.thejc.com/news/politic...
November 5, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Filing this under grimly funny.
The binfire that is the British Library just gets worse, doesn't?
– It spends a decade or more prioritising eg, events over its IT systems
– The resulting hack leaves it still incapable of fulfilling its core function two years later
– Staff strike because they are treated no better than its users
…
– It spends a decade or more prioritising eg, events over its IT systems
– The resulting hack leaves it still incapable of fulfilling its core function two years later
– Staff strike because they are treated no better than its users
…
November 5, 2025 at 11:06 AM
The binfire that is the British Library just gets worse, doesn't?
– It spends a decade or more prioritising eg, events over its IT systems
– The resulting hack leaves it still incapable of fulfilling its core function two years later
– Staff strike because they are treated no better than its users
…
– It spends a decade or more prioritising eg, events over its IT systems
– The resulting hack leaves it still incapable of fulfilling its core function two years later
– Staff strike because they are treated no better than its users
…
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
I love how there's a Bruegel for every occasion and every post!
How a misread Arabic tale misled generations of historians about the Black Death's rapid spread
by University of Exeter
by Stephanie Baum & Robert Egan
phys.org/news/2025-11...
Black death at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje...
#books #archeology #humanhealth
by University of Exeter
by Stephanie Baum & Robert Egan
phys.org/news/2025-11...
Black death at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje...
#books #archeology #humanhealth
November 5, 2025 at 10:44 AM
I love how there's a Bruegel for every occasion and every post!
Link here! mathewlyons.substack.com/p/ten-books-...
November 5, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Link here! mathewlyons.substack.com/p/ten-books-...
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
I was so very pleased to blurb Peter Jones' new book on the seven deadly sins and medieval psychology. It's an unexpectedly addictive read!
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469085...
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469085...
Self-Help From the Middle Ages
What can a twelfth-century monk teach us about burnout, envy, or despair? Far more than we might imagine. In Self-Help from the Middle Ages, historian Peter Jones travels through Europe’s archives and...
www.penguin.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 8:50 PM
I was so very pleased to blurb Peter Jones' new book on the seven deadly sins and medieval psychology. It's an unexpectedly addictive read!
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469085...
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469085...
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
Turns out this news was in the public domain yesterday but no one has covered it as far as I can tell. Does no one care about our national library anymore? It was much the same with the cyberattack. If this was a bit of 'science' infrastructure can you imagine?
www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...
www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...
British Library chief executive quits midway through PCS strike
The British Library has been thrown into further turmoil midway through a two-week PCS strike with the resignation of its chief executive Rebecca Lawrence.
www.pcs.org.uk
November 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Turns out this news was in the public domain yesterday but no one has covered it as far as I can tell. Does no one care about our national library anymore? It was much the same with the cyberattack. If this was a bit of 'science' infrastructure can you imagine?
www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...
www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
Double film recommendation - My Man Godfrey (1936) and Madame Bovary (1991)
and a moment of realisation: in those roles Carole Lombard and Isabelle Huppert remind me of one another - it’s the helpless yearning embodied by both characters but also a sort of air de famille between the two.
and a moment of realisation: in those roles Carole Lombard and Isabelle Huppert remind me of one another - it’s the helpless yearning embodied by both characters but also a sort of air de famille between the two.
November 4, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Double film recommendation - My Man Godfrey (1936) and Madame Bovary (1991)
and a moment of realisation: in those roles Carole Lombard and Isabelle Huppert remind me of one another - it’s the helpless yearning embodied by both characters but also a sort of air de famille between the two.
and a moment of realisation: in those roles Carole Lombard and Isabelle Huppert remind me of one another - it’s the helpless yearning embodied by both characters but also a sort of air de famille between the two.
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the wonderful @philipwomack.bsky.social.
The writer’s bookshelf: Philip Womack
Eight questions about writers, books, and reading…
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:56 AM
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the wonderful @philipwomack.bsky.social.
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
My pick of history and non-fiction books for October, featuring slave rebellions, the Weimar Republic, elves and fairies, espionage in the two world wars, snow, graveyards and more!
Ten books to look out for in October
Upcoming history and non-fiction titles that have caught my eye
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:25 AM
My pick of history and non-fiction books for October, featuring slave rebellions, the Weimar Republic, elves and fairies, espionage in the two world wars, snow, graveyards and more!
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
Back by popular demand, Introduction to Latin Palaeography will run online in February 2026 #MedievalSky 👇
ies.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
ies.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Introduction to Latin Palaeography
ies.sas.ac.uk
October 23, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Back by popular demand, Introduction to Latin Palaeography will run online in February 2026 #MedievalSky 👇
ies.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
ies.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
‘Pariah’ Carey is incredible subbing work, 10/10 no notes.
November 4, 2025 at 12:00 AM
‘Pariah’ Carey is incredible subbing work, 10/10 no notes.
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
I loved doing this interview for Mathew
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the wonderful @philipwomack.bsky.social.
The writer’s bookshelf: Philip Womack
Eight questions about writers, books, and reading…
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I loved doing this interview for Mathew
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
Fancy spending the summer at the University of Oxford learning about the Stuarts? Look no further! My summer course is now open for applications ⬇️
The Stuarts: The Fall, Rise and Revolution of a Dynasty, 1603-1714
lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/courses/the-...
The Stuarts: The Fall, Rise and Revolution of a Dynasty, 1603-1714
lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/courses/the-...
The Stuarts: The Fall, Rise and Revolution of a Dynasty, 1603-1714
This course investigates the story of the Stuarts (1603 to 1714) in the context of the political, social, religious, economic and cultural history of seventeenth century England.
lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk
November 3, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Fancy spending the summer at the University of Oxford learning about the Stuarts? Look no further! My summer course is now open for applications ⬇️
The Stuarts: The Fall, Rise and Revolution of a Dynasty, 1603-1714
lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/courses/the-...
The Stuarts: The Fall, Rise and Revolution of a Dynasty, 1603-1714
lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/courses/the-...
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
Is there a crossword person in your life? Would you like to get them a unique gift? PERHAPS FOR CHRISTMAS?
Well maybe a bespoke quiz or cryptic crossword would fit the bill, on any theme, of any size, by the author of [counts on fingers] more than 900 published crosswords, i.e. Me. Give me a shout!
Well maybe a bespoke quiz or cryptic crossword would fit the bill, on any theme, of any size, by the author of [counts on fingers] more than 900 published crosswords, i.e. Me. Give me a shout!
November 3, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Is there a crossword person in your life? Would you like to get them a unique gift? PERHAPS FOR CHRISTMAS?
Well maybe a bespoke quiz or cryptic crossword would fit the bill, on any theme, of any size, by the author of [counts on fingers] more than 900 published crosswords, i.e. Me. Give me a shout!
Well maybe a bespoke quiz or cryptic crossword would fit the bill, on any theme, of any size, by the author of [counts on fingers] more than 900 published crosswords, i.e. Me. Give me a shout!