Kiran Mehta
@kiranmehta.bsky.social
Historian researching prison labour and citizenship in Britain & British Empire, 1750-1895. Leverhulme ECF & University of Leicester.
Just back from a trip to Cambodia and I cannot over-emphasize how amazing the Angkor Wat complex is. Look at these outstanding carvings at Bayon temple! Late 12th ce!
September 23, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Just back from a trip to Cambodia and I cannot over-emphasize how amazing the Angkor Wat complex is. Look at these outstanding carvings at Bayon temple! Late 12th ce!
Haven’t made time to go to an art gallery in a while but so glad I finally got to the Tate Britain’s Edward Burra exhibit. Interesting life and fun art.
August 25, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Haven’t made time to go to an art gallery in a while but so glad I finally got to the Tate Britain’s Edward Burra exhibit. Interesting life and fun art.
Today’s tube reading is really really good
July 18, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Today’s tube reading is really really good
Came for the prison history; leaving with a questionable book recommendation #skystorians #archives
July 4, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Came for the prison history; leaving with a questionable book recommendation #skystorians #archives
Sorry but who wrote these “Pause for Reflection” sections at Gloucester cathedral??? They are incredible.
July 4, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Sorry but who wrote these “Pause for Reflection” sections at Gloucester cathedral??? They are incredible.
I know I should be grateful because this Gloucester clerk had such clear handwriting. But could he have written just a tiny bit bigger? My poor eyes.
July 3, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I know I should be grateful because this Gloucester clerk had such clear handwriting. But could he have written just a tiny bit bigger? My poor eyes.
Outrageously nice weather
July 3, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Outrageously nice weather
In Gloucester for a few days to trawl through some prison records
July 3, 2025 at 12:52 PM
In Gloucester for a few days to trawl through some prison records
And Suzanne Valadon!!!
May 24, 2025 at 11:55 AM
And Suzanne Valadon!!!
Very cool Black Paris exhibit at the Pompidou
May 24, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Very cool Black Paris exhibit at the Pompidou
Funny, I also think my husband-to-be should know the price of a four-poster bed.
‘The Education of Husbands’ • Trinidad Spectator • 1845
‘The Education of Husbands’ • Trinidad Spectator • 1845
May 21, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Funny, I also think my husband-to-be should know the price of a four-poster bed.
‘The Education of Husbands’ • Trinidad Spectator • 1845
‘The Education of Husbands’ • Trinidad Spectator • 1845
Happy two-month anniversary to me and my book 🥰
May 12, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Happy two-month anniversary to me and my book 🥰
Back from Australia and finally get to hold this!!!!
April 18, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Back from Australia and finally get to hold this!!!!
First time I’ve seen a magistrate recommend a sentence he pronounced - convicting a man for escaping from a lock up - be remitted because the lock up was so insecure that you really couldn’t blame the prisoner for breaking out
[Victoria PRO, Aus, 1864]
[Victoria PRO, Aus, 1864]
April 11, 2025 at 2:16 AM
First time I’ve seen a magistrate recommend a sentence he pronounced - convicting a man for escaping from a lock up - be remitted because the lock up was so insecure that you really couldn’t blame the prisoner for breaking out
[Victoria PRO, Aus, 1864]
[Victoria PRO, Aus, 1864]
Oh except google didn’t really understand where the roads were / where you can actually walk, so I got lost & trapped in an industrial estate. I had to backtrack to the main road, which btw didn’t have sidewalks and was a nightmare to get across.
April 2, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Oh except google didn’t really understand where the roads were / where you can actually walk, so I got lost & trapped in an industrial estate. I had to backtrack to the main road, which btw didn’t have sidewalks and was a nightmare to get across.
Great day at the South Australian archives BUT the trip there has got me thinking a lot about getting to/ accessing record offices, so I’m going to start recording my attempts to visit archives via public transport
April 2, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Great day at the South Australian archives BUT the trip there has got me thinking a lot about getting to/ accessing record offices, so I’m going to start recording my attempts to visit archives via public transport
I’ve been looking for some (any!) nineteenth-century rules for prisons in the colony of Victoria for about two weeks now and I finally found a copy for Pentridge in a box of correspondence I called up randomly. So maybe Saturdays at the archive are a good idea.
March 29, 2025 at 3:02 AM
I’ve been looking for some (any!) nineteenth-century rules for prisons in the colony of Victoria for about two weeks now and I finally found a copy for Pentridge in a box of correspondence I called up randomly. So maybe Saturdays at the archive are a good idea.
Do I need to try this wine on behalf of all prison historians?
March 25, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Do I need to try this wine on behalf of all prison historians?
It’s publication day! I haven’t seen the physical copy yet (😭) as I’m on a research trip in Australia BUT to celebrate I swung by NSW state library to visit Francis Greenway’s painting of Newgate jail that graces the cover of my book.
www.mqup.ca/to-detain-or....
@mcgillqueensup.bsky.social
www.mqup.ca/to-detain-or....
@mcgillqueensup.bsky.social
March 11, 2025 at 3:06 AM
It’s publication day! I haven’t seen the physical copy yet (😭) as I’m on a research trip in Australia BUT to celebrate I swung by NSW state library to visit Francis Greenway’s painting of Newgate jail that graces the cover of my book.
www.mqup.ca/to-detain-or....
@mcgillqueensup.bsky.social
www.mqup.ca/to-detain-or....
@mcgillqueensup.bsky.social
Feeling very lucky to visit and learn more about Port Arthur convict settlement in Tasmania
March 2, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Feeling very lucky to visit and learn more about Port Arthur convict settlement in Tasmania
It’s about the rise of the modern prison, especially the efforts to make some prisons really punitive and others purely custodial. A major focus is on the legalization, regulation and operation of prison labour. (More on this soon as part of my @leverhulme.bsky.social fellowship!)
Further details:
Further details:
February 12, 2025 at 10:31 AM
It’s about the rise of the modern prison, especially the efforts to make some prisons really punitive and others purely custodial. A major focus is on the legalization, regulation and operation of prison labour. (More on this soon as part of my @leverhulme.bsky.social fellowship!)
Further details:
Further details:
Very very happy to say that my book, To Detain or to Punish: Magistrates and the Making of the London Prison System, 1750-1840, will be out in March with @mcgillqueensup.bsky.social
February 12, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Very very happy to say that my book, To Detain or to Punish: Magistrates and the Making of the London Prison System, 1750-1840, will be out in March with @mcgillqueensup.bsky.social