will pooley
@willpooley.bsky.social
historian of witchcrafts, folklore, France 18-20th c
ass. ed. French History
ed. Cambridge Elements in Magic
also #CreativeHistories
that’s an actual photo of me
ass. ed. French History
ed. Cambridge Elements in Magic
also #CreativeHistories
that’s an actual photo of me
Pinned
will pooley
@willpooley.bsky.social
· Nov 10
Sheet Happens
When I started working on witchcraft cases in France from 1790-1940, I knew I wanted to count them. This, of course, was my first mistake. The oldest version I have of the Excel spreadsheet I built…
williamgpooley.wordpress.com
My reintroduction: historian of french magic, folklore, witchcraft, tarot. I blog about all that, as well as writing, creative historical methods, quantification and research process.
A surprising number of you sickos can’t get enough spreadsheet chat🗃️
williamgpooley.wordpress.com/2024/05/22/s...
A surprising number of you sickos can’t get enough spreadsheet chat🗃️
williamgpooley.wordpress.com/2024/05/22/s...
“what if horses couldn’t talk, but could on the other hand, feel exactly the same emotions and display the same expressions as people” - Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarillon
January 16, 2026 at 5:57 PM
“what if horses couldn’t talk, but could on the other hand, feel exactly the same emotions and display the same expressions as people” - Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarillon
Reposted by will pooley
Our graphic history is a microhistory in unusual form about the 1930s, France and Mexico; it riffs on historical storytelling through multiple genres
In the Land of the Lacandón
In the mid-1930s the amateur French ethnographer and filmmaker Bernard de Colmont ventured into the mountainous state of Chiapas to study the Lacandón people and broadcast their way of life to a curio...
www.mqup.ca
January 16, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Our graphic history is a microhistory in unusual form about the 1930s, France and Mexico; it riffs on historical storytelling through multiple genres
Reposted by will pooley
I mean, I think I can use this as a form of divination for my weekend too?
{"reason":"I'm in the middle of a very delicate 'doing nothing' ritual."}
{"reason":"I'm in the middle of a very delicate 'doing nothing' ritual."}
January 16, 2026 at 12:07 PM
I mean, I think I can use this as a form of divination for my weekend too?
{"reason":"I'm in the middle of a very delicate 'doing nothing' ritual."}
{"reason":"I'm in the middle of a very delicate 'doing nothing' ritual."}
Reposted by will pooley
'Declining this request sparks joy in me' 😅
January 16, 2026 at 11:56 AM
'Declining this request sparks joy in me' 😅
Reposted by will pooley
Further scenes at the French census office in Paris in 1911: A line of women workers process piles of census forms (Gallica, BnF) 🗃️
December 20, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Further scenes at the French census office in Paris in 1911: A line of women workers process piles of census forms (Gallica, BnF) 🗃️
Reposted by will pooley
'it was men from the past that collated that data'. I mean no, but also yes, and that is entirely the problem.
January 16, 2026 at 10:59 AM
'it was men from the past that collated that data'. I mean no, but also yes, and that is entirely the problem.
Reposted by will pooley
SCAM ALERT – IMPORTANT
The cat has already been fed.
The cat has already been fed.
January 16, 2026 at 11:35 AM
SCAM ALERT – IMPORTANT
The cat has already been fed.
The cat has already been fed.
January 16, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Reposted by will pooley
Reposted by will pooley
Does this include PhD theses? As mine was very much in that vein (I toyed with the idea of turning it into a book but ultimately wanted to move onto different projects).
(PDF) Georgiou, ''...From the Fringe of London to the Heart of Fairyland' - Suburban Community, Leisure, Voluntary Action and Identities in the Ilford Carnival, 1905-1914'
PDF | The Ilford Carnival was a procession of costumed individuals and decorated vehicles held annually in this then outerlying London suburb between... | Find, read and cite all the research you need...
www.researchgate.net
January 16, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Does this include PhD theses? As mine was very much in that vein (I toyed with the idea of turning it into a book but ultimately wanted to move onto different projects).
Reposted by will pooley
An extraordinary book, actually translated and published in the Microstorie collection, directed by Ginzburg and Levi. Alessandro Portelli’s books have been translated and are bona fide Italian microhistory. Maurizio Gribaudi as well, but no English edition, I think.
January 16, 2026 at 10:50 AM
An extraordinary book, actually translated and published in the Microstorie collection, directed by Ginzburg and Levi. Alessandro Portelli’s books have been translated and are bona fide Italian microhistory. Maurizio Gribaudi as well, but no English edition, I think.
Reposted by will pooley
My favourite is Alice Kaplan's The Collaborator, about a Nazi purge court case after WWII. @sarahhorowitz.bsky.social's Red Widow is also amazing.
January 16, 2026 at 9:57 AM
My favourite is Alice Kaplan's The Collaborator, about a Nazi purge court case after WWII. @sarahhorowitz.bsky.social's Red Widow is also amazing.
Reposted by will pooley
Owen Chadwick, Victorian Miniature.
January 16, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Owen Chadwick, Victorian Miniature.
Reposted by will pooley
Matt Houlbrook's new book on Seven Dials, focused on a court case
January 16, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Matt Houlbrook's new book on Seven Dials, focused on a court case
Reposted by will pooley
Chris Hilliard, The Littlehampton Libels global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:58 AM
Chris Hilliard, The Littlehampton Libels global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Reposted by will pooley
Oh and of course The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey by @julialaite.bsky.social
January 16, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Oh and of course The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey by @julialaite.bsky.social
Reposted by will pooley
Schwartz, Today sardines are not for sale?
January 16, 2026 at 7:45 AM
Schwartz, Today sardines are not for sale?
Reposted by will pooley
I love teaching with Hazel V Carby’s Imperial Intimacies www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
Imperial Intimacies
‘Where are you from?’ was the question hounding Hazel Carby as a girl in post–World War II London. One of the so-called brown babies of the Windrush generation, born to a Jamaican father and Welsh mot...
www.versobooks.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:32 AM
I love teaching with Hazel V Carby’s Imperial Intimacies www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
Reposted by will pooley
The Maamtrasna murders, Margaret Kelleher
January 16, 2026 at 7:36 AM
The Maamtrasna murders, Margaret Kelleher
Reposted by will pooley
@brodiewaddell.bsky.social kept a good list on Twitter and on Many Headed Monster: manyheadedmonster.com/2020/07/20/t...
January 16, 2026 at 7:35 AM
@brodiewaddell.bsky.social kept a good list on Twitter and on Many Headed Monster: manyheadedmonster.com/2020/07/20/t...
Reposted by will pooley
Think it’s likely already on your radar, but Timothy Verhoeven’s work is brilliant link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Sexual Crime, Religion and Masculinity in fin-de-siècle France
This book examines a shocking murder that triggered a confrontation between French republicans and Catholics at the end of the nineteenth century
link.springer.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:26 AM
Think it’s likely already on your radar, but Timothy Verhoeven’s work is brilliant link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
looking for any and all microhistory* recommendations for books on the period 1850-1950, any geography
*let’s say focused on a court case, or a non-elite protagonist, or a community etc. i know the term hasn’t always travelled that well outside of its origins in early modern european examples 🗃️
*let’s say focused on a court case, or a non-elite protagonist, or a community etc. i know the term hasn’t always travelled that well outside of its origins in early modern european examples 🗃️
January 16, 2026 at 7:19 AM
looking for any and all microhistory* recommendations for books on the period 1850-1950, any geography
*let’s say focused on a court case, or a non-elite protagonist, or a community etc. i know the term hasn’t always travelled that well outside of its origins in early modern european examples 🗃️
*let’s say focused on a court case, or a non-elite protagonist, or a community etc. i know the term hasn’t always travelled that well outside of its origins in early modern european examples 🗃️
in case anyone else is in the UK IS facing similar problems with Box of Broadcasts, the email I’ve just had from them suggests they are dealing with a broad outage 🗃️
do any of you teach with box of broadcasts? is the platform down? I can’t get it to show me any content or search results
January 15, 2026 at 4:04 PM
in case anyone else is in the UK IS facing similar problems with Box of Broadcasts, the email I’ve just had from them suggests they are dealing with a broad outage 🗃️
do any of you teach with box of broadcasts? is the platform down? I can’t get it to show me any content or search results
January 15, 2026 at 1:22 PM
do any of you teach with box of broadcasts? is the platform down? I can’t get it to show me any content or search results