Martin Hewitt
@vicmanch.bsky.social
Victorianist. President of the British Association for Victorian Studies, and Editor of the Curran Index for the RSVP. Author: Darwinism's Generations. The Reception of Darwinian Evolution in Britain, 1859-1909 (2024). Check me out at profmartinhewitt.com
Pinned
Martin Hewitt
@vicmanch.bsky.social
· Nov 11
So I was expecting copies of Darwinism's Generations to arrive this week, but they came early. So we had to have a celebration! It's been a long time in the making, but we can now say for sure that it's properly published. If you have an insitutional subscription, it's available on Oxford Academic.
Looking foward to Porto in late October, talking about women, empire and all things Victorian. Can't say that a trip to a port merchants or two hasn't also crossed my mind. Come and join in!
Women and/of the Empire(s)
International conference hosted by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Faculdade de Letras), University of Porto, Portugal
womenandempire.wordpress.com
January 20, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Looking foward to Porto in late October, talking about women, empire and all things Victorian. Can't say that a trip to a port merchants or two hasn't also crossed my mind. Come and join in!
1st week as editor of the Curran Index, and thinking about priorities. I have to say that this (admittedly tongue-in-cheek) proposal from 1867 that all newspaper and magazine authors be compelled to provide their name, age, income, religion & politics would have made my job a whole lot easier!
![Picture of the full letter of 'Clotilde de Vaux, aged 35' to the Pall Mall Gazette, 31 July 1867, including the proposal that anyone publishing an article in a newspaper or periodical should register his [sic] name...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:osiltfnlggdr7s5gkultdrff/bafkreigz5kybebh4ohjf2ygjed7sic3piwc6ornd2sryavjmlwapeh43c4@jpeg)
January 7, 2026 at 11:36 AM
1st week as editor of the Curran Index, and thinking about priorities. I have to say that this (admittedly tongue-in-cheek) proposal from 1867 that all newspaper and magazine authors be compelled to provide their name, age, income, religion & politics would have made my job a whole lot easier!
'Traffic', the NASSR/NAVSA 2026 conference at Pasadena, CA; alongside the NACBS down the road. Sounds like the place to be in mid-November!
NASSR/NAVSA Conference – November 11-15, 2026 | Pasadena, CA | Hilton
traffic2026.ucr.edu
January 5, 2026 at 3:44 PM
'Traffic', the NASSR/NAVSA 2026 conference at Pasadena, CA; alongside the NACBS down the road. Sounds like the place to be in mid-November!
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
Happy Holidays from RSVP! Our gift 🎁 to you is the debut of a new interview series, starting with @patrickleary.bsky.social, who sat down with @c19thnewshound.bsky.social this past year to discuss "Getting Started with Periodicals Research." Stay tuned for more in 2026! rs4vp.org/introducing-...
Introducing A New Interview Series – RSVP
We're launching a new series of interviews of senior RSVP members, who will discuss their advice for researching 19th-century periodicals.
rs4vp.org
December 23, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Happy Holidays from RSVP! Our gift 🎁 to you is the debut of a new interview series, starting with @patrickleary.bsky.social, who sat down with @c19thnewshound.bsky.social this past year to discuss "Getting Started with Periodicals Research." Stay tuned for more in 2026! rs4vp.org/introducing-...
Well the news is out! I'll be the next Editor of the Curran Index. Thrilled to have the opportunity to take the Curran forwards for the next five years. Looking forward to building on the work of Emily Middleton and Lars Atkin and making the Curran even more central to Victorian scholarhip.
The Curran Index to Nineteenth-Century Periodicals
The Curran Index to Nineteenth-Century Periodicals
www.curranindex.org
December 21, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Well the news is out! I'll be the next Editor of the Curran Index. Thrilled to have the opportunity to take the Curran forwards for the next five years. Looking forward to building on the work of Emily Middleton and Lars Atkin and making the Curran even more central to Victorian scholarhip.
Ever wondered about the deeper history of generational dynamics than the conventional c20/c21 one? Here's Julianne Werlin's take on how the reception of Darwin might have insights to offer.
Generations
Darwinian Edition
lifeandletters.substack.com
December 20, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Ever wondered about the deeper history of generational dynamics than the conventional c20/c21 one? Here's Julianne Werlin's take on how the reception of Darwin might have insights to offer.
Love this; but along with the rise of 'close reading' has apparently come the collapse of 'original reading'. So do we need to ask what all this close reading is achieving?
The relative usages of "[adjective] reading" in Anglophone literary studies journals, 1920-2020. Made for my "Prac Crit" course next term, "[Adjective] Reading". Interactive version here: public.tableau.com/views/Adject...
![Line graph showing the history of different types of '[adjective] reading' in Anglophone literary studies from 1920-2020. The x-axis represents publication decades, while the y-axis shows the percent of '[adjective] reading' instances in literary studies journals as a 9-decade moving average. Multiple colored lines track various reading methodologies over time. 'Close reading' shows the most dramatic rise, peaking around 2010 at approximately 18% (33 times its 1920s usage). 'Original reading' dominated the 1920s at 7.6% but declined to 0.5% by the 2010s. Other notable methodologies include 'careful reading' (peaked 1960s), 'critical reading' (peaked 1980s), 'wide reading' (1920s), 'correct reading' (1930s), 'new reading' (1950s), 'feminist reading' (1990s), 'textual reading' (2000s), 'distant reading' (2010s), and 'nuanced reading' (2010s). Each labeled point includes the decade of peak usage, the percentage at peak, and the ratio compared to its lowest-usage decade. Data sourced from JSTOR across seven leading literary studies journals including PMLA, Critical Inquiry, New Literary History, ELH, Modern Language Review, Review of English Studies, and Modern Philology.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:llsfba2zryavs4uunglknwie/bafkreicyi6bsqxkrmjstwbyxfvis33j2wxatye2t2dh5fva5pk46xw6n7y@jpeg)
December 18, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Love this; but along with the rise of 'close reading' has apparently come the collapse of 'original reading'. So do we need to ask what all this close reading is achieving?
Glad to see my ODNB article on Jennett Humphreys, herself a significant contributor to the original DNB and an important worker on the OED as well, has been published in the latest ODNB update (on lexicographers). If you have access, do check her out. www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1...
December 12, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Glad to see my ODNB article on Jennett Humphreys, herself a significant contributor to the original DNB and an important worker on the OED as well, has been published in the latest ODNB update (on lexicographers). If you have access, do check her out. www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1...
Have just discovered that the price for accessing a copy of a will from the UK Probate Search service increased in mid-November from £1.50 to £16.00. There's no way of accessing in person, so that's just made one part of the sort of biographical/prosopographical research I do pretty much impossible.
December 11, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Have just discovered that the price for accessing a copy of a will from the UK Probate Search service increased in mid-November from £1.50 to £16.00. There's no way of accessing in person, so that's just made one part of the sort of biographical/prosopographical research I do pretty much impossible.
Still time to get a proposal in for BAVS2026 in Liverpool. Go on - you know you'll regret it if you don't!
Check out the BAVS 2026 conference website: www.ljmu.ac.uk/bavs2026
CfP deadline extended until 12th December 2025!
CfP deadline extended until 12th December 2025!
British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS) conference
The Centre for Modern and Contemporary History, with the Centre for Port and Maritime History, are delighted to welcome BAVS delegates to Liverpool in 2026.
www.ljmu.ac.uk
December 9, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Still time to get a proposal in for BAVS2026 in Liverpool. Go on - you know you'll regret it if you don't!
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
Had a lot of fun giving a masterclass with Julianne Werlin (Duke) on Generations at St Andrews last week. Thanks to the grad students for making it such a lively session, and to Matt Augustine/the Scottish Graduate School Arts & Humanities for the invitation. Let me know if I can do the same for you
December 2, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Had a lot of fun giving a masterclass with Julianne Werlin (Duke) on Generations at St Andrews last week. Thanks to the grad students for making it such a lively session, and to Matt Augustine/the Scottish Graduate School Arts & Humanities for the invitation. Let me know if I can do the same for you
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
BAAS invites scholars in any field of American Studies to apply for grants of up to two years in duration. Grants may be requested for up to a maximum of £2000 for a range of American Studies academic activities.
Please note, from 2026, earlier submission deadlines are in place.
Please note, from 2026, earlier submission deadlines are in place.
BAAS Development Fund - British Association for American Studies
NEW EARLIER DEADLINES FOR BAAS DEVELOPMENT FUND APPLICATIONS (1st FEBRUARY & 1st OCTOBER: BAAS invites scholars in any field of American Studies to apply for grants of up to two years in duration.…
buff.ly
December 2, 2025 at 1:57 PM
BAAS invites scholars in any field of American Studies to apply for grants of up to two years in duration. Grants may be requested for up to a maximum of £2000 for a range of American Studies academic activities.
Please note, from 2026, earlier submission deadlines are in place.
Please note, from 2026, earlier submission deadlines are in place.
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
If you teach on undergraduate history courses, please spread the word. Small sums can often make a huge difference.
Are you studying for a BA or taught Masters and need financial help to research a dissertation with a labour history theme? Check out our #bursary scheme…
sslh.org.uk/bursaries-gr...
sslh.org.uk/bursaries-gr...
December 2, 2025 at 3:39 PM
If you teach on undergraduate history courses, please spread the word. Small sums can often make a huge difference.
Had a lot of fun giving a masterclass with Julianne Werlin (Duke) on Generations at St Andrews last week. Thanks to the grad students for making it such a lively session, and to Matt Augustine/the Scottish Graduate School Arts & Humanities for the invitation. Let me know if I can do the same for you
December 2, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Had a lot of fun giving a masterclass with Julianne Werlin (Duke) on Generations at St Andrews last week. Thanks to the grad students for making it such a lively session, and to Matt Augustine/the Scottish Graduate School Arts & Humanities for the invitation. Let me know if I can do the same for you
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Excellent news
Excellent news
UK aims to secure agreement to rejoin Erasmus student exchange scheme
Britain quit EU programme after Brexit, when Boris Johnson claimed it did not offer good value for money
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:21 PM
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Excellent news
Excellent news
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
As @drhorrocks.bsky.social @vicmanch.bsky.social noted, Victorianists have the opportunity of back-to-back conferences with #RSVP2026 held in Dublin, 23-25 July & #BAVS2026 held in Liverpool, 27-29 July
Too late to apply to RSVP, but submissions still open for BAVS!
#BookHistory #PeriodicalStudies
Too late to apply to RSVP, but submissions still open for BAVS!
#BookHistory #PeriodicalStudies
Check out the BAVS 2026 conference website: www.ljmu.ac.uk/bavs2026
CfP deadline extended until 12th December 2025!
CfP deadline extended until 12th December 2025!
British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS) conference
The Centre for Modern and Contemporary History, with the Centre for Port and Maritime History, are delighted to welcome BAVS delegates to Liverpool in 2026.
www.ljmu.ac.uk
November 27, 2025 at 9:12 AM
As @drhorrocks.bsky.social @vicmanch.bsky.social noted, Victorianists have the opportunity of back-to-back conferences with #RSVP2026 held in Dublin, 23-25 July & #BAVS2026 held in Liverpool, 27-29 July
Too late to apply to RSVP, but submissions still open for BAVS!
#BookHistory #PeriodicalStudies
Too late to apply to RSVP, but submissions still open for BAVS!
#BookHistory #PeriodicalStudies
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
Find out more about our #bursaries. We are always open to applicants sslh.org.uk/bursaries-gr...
Bursaries
The Society for the Study of Labour History offers financial support to PhD students, post-graduate researchers and independent scholars engaged in postgraduate-level research, as well as to BA and…
sslh.org.uk
November 20, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Find out more about our #bursaries. We are always open to applicants sslh.org.uk/bursaries-gr...
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
Don't forget to submit an abstract for RSVP's Dublin conference on movements and migrations by tomorrow!
conference.rs4vp.org
conference.rs4vp.org
RSVP Conference 2026 – RSVP
Dates July 23-25, 2026
conference.rs4vp.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Don't forget to submit an abstract for RSVP's Dublin conference on movements and migrations by tomorrow!
conference.rs4vp.org
conference.rs4vp.org
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
We are pleased to launch today a new funding scheme, jointly with @ihr.bsky.social & DC Thomson.
Applied History Fellowships bit.ly/4ijiuII offer financial / practical support to develop the wider impact and application of academic work. £12,000 for 6 months. Closing date: 31 Jan 2026 #Skystorians
Applied History Fellowships bit.ly/4ijiuII offer financial / practical support to develop the wider impact and application of academic work. £12,000 for 6 months. Closing date: 31 Jan 2026 #Skystorians
Society launches call for new Applied History Fellowships, with the Institute of Historical Research and DC Thomson - RHS
In November 2025, the Society joins with partners the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) and publisher DC Thomson to launch a new Applied History Fellowship programme to support recent post-doctor...
bit.ly
November 20, 2025 at 11:44 AM
We are pleased to launch today a new funding scheme, jointly with @ihr.bsky.social & DC Thomson.
Applied History Fellowships bit.ly/4ijiuII offer financial / practical support to develop the wider impact and application of academic work. £12,000 for 6 months. Closing date: 31 Jan 2026 #Skystorians
Applied History Fellowships bit.ly/4ijiuII offer financial / practical support to develop the wider impact and application of academic work. £12,000 for 6 months. Closing date: 31 Jan 2026 #Skystorians
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
Out today (in USA)
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Liberal Worlds
The intellectual biography of a Victorian Liberal polymath
press.princeton.edu
November 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Out today (in USA)
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
Specially useful for early-career Victorianists. Register to get a Zoom link.
Mystified by how to approach an academic journal editor? Need help getting through the "revise and resubmit" doldrums? Our next #RSVPDigiEvent can help! Join us next Friday, Nov. 21 and hear from the editors of top #Victorian journals on "How to Get Published in a Academic Journal": buff.ly/ydJkKAK
How to Get Published in an Academic Journal – RSVP
Join us Friday, November 21 for a special professional development session on how to get published in an academic journal!
buff.ly
November 18, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Specially useful for early-career Victorianists. Register to get a Zoom link.
Just been finalising readings etc for my segment of the upcoming Scottish Graduate School Arts and Humanities seminar on 'Thinking Generationally', with Julianne Werlin (Duke). tockify.com/sgsah/detail... Looking forward to seeing everyone who has signed up in St Andrews on the 24th.
University of Glasgow - Events and Training
www.sgsah.ac.uk
November 13, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Just been finalising readings etc for my segment of the upcoming Scottish Graduate School Arts and Humanities seminar on 'Thinking Generationally', with Julianne Werlin (Duke). tockify.com/sgsah/detail... Looking forward to seeing everyone who has signed up in St Andrews on the 24th.
Just notching up my 50th correction to the FindmyPast census records. Still waiting for a really memorable mis-transcription, but I do like the thought of John Armsden of Bognor, 'Stationer and Fancy Seeds'; the actual entry, 'Goods', is so much more prosaic, no matter how 'fancy'.
November 11, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Just notching up my 50th correction to the FindmyPast census records. Still waiting for a really memorable mis-transcription, but I do like the thought of John Armsden of Bognor, 'Stationer and Fancy Seeds'; the actual entry, 'Goods', is so much more prosaic, no matter how 'fancy'.
People are frequently, frustratingly, missing from the census, but how many got to appear twice in the same year? Translator Edward Percy Jacobsen did in 1911; as a single man living with his mother in Bloomsbury, and again as a husband/father in Tooting! All the details match. Were there others?
November 9, 2025 at 5:19 PM
People are frequently, frustratingly, missing from the census, but how many got to appear twice in the same year? Translator Edward Percy Jacobsen did in 1911; as a single man living with his mother in Bloomsbury, and again as a husband/father in Tooting! All the details match. Were there others?
Reposted by Martin Hewitt
"Here is an exciting new way to think about the century that produced Darwinism."
Janet Browne's review of Martin Hewitt's Darwinism's Generations: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@vicmanch.bsky.social
Janet Browne's review of Martin Hewitt's Darwinism's Generations: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@vicmanch.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 3:48 PM
"Here is an exciting new way to think about the century that produced Darwinism."
Janet Browne's review of Martin Hewitt's Darwinism's Generations: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@vicmanch.bsky.social
Janet Browne's review of Martin Hewitt's Darwinism's Generations: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@vicmanch.bsky.social