Matt Houlbrook
@tricksterprince.bsky.social
Cultural history, Britain, cities, sexuality & gender, #20s30s.
Now - Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London (MUP)
Next - The Self-Improvers: The people who remade themselves and made the modern world
Now - Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London (MUP)
Next - The Self-Improvers: The people who remade themselves and made the modern world
Pinned
This is what publication day looked like.
I am buzzing but broken this morning. Thank you to everyone who made time to talk to me or came out to hear me talk about Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London.
The book is out now with @manchesterup.bsky.social
I am buzzing but broken this morning. Thank you to everyone who made time to talk to me or came out to hear me talk about Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London.
The book is out now with @manchesterup.bsky.social
Historian Sarah Churchwell on what Hollywood gets wrong about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
Catch up! youtu.be/LQNljwh4QD8
Catch up! youtu.be/LQNljwh4QD8
November 21, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
This gorgeous little book of slides from the Design Council collection has arrived & single handedly saved my sanity
November 21, 2025 at 1:53 PM
This gorgeous little book of slides from the Design Council collection has arrived & single handedly saved my sanity
Men of the South, 1921, painting by Séan Keating (Crawford Art Gallery). North Cork Brigade of the IRA during the Irish War of Independence.
November 21, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
Sometimes you need to hear that you're not the only one feeling that way. Yeah, it's sweary; but it's also one of @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com's very best - and that's a high bar.
this week's newsletter is titled "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and I think it speaks for itself
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
November 21, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Sometimes you need to hear that you're not the only one feeling that way. Yeah, it's sweary; but it's also one of @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com's very best - and that's a high bar.
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
Compare and contrast the Government language.
£3,750 EV grant on a £35k car: ‘helping families’.
Cycle to Work: ‘subsidising leisure’.
And yet cycling delivers TEN TIMES the impact of electric cars for reaching net zero. It’s almost like narrative, not data, is driving policy.
£3,750 EV grant on a £35k car: ‘helping families’.
Cycle to Work: ‘subsidising leisure’.
And yet cycling delivers TEN TIMES the impact of electric cars for reaching net zero. It’s almost like narrative, not data, is driving policy.
November 21, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Compare and contrast the Government language.
£3,750 EV grant on a £35k car: ‘helping families’.
Cycle to Work: ‘subsidising leisure’.
And yet cycling delivers TEN TIMES the impact of electric cars for reaching net zero. It’s almost like narrative, not data, is driving policy.
£3,750 EV grant on a £35k car: ‘helping families’.
Cycle to Work: ‘subsidising leisure’.
And yet cycling delivers TEN TIMES the impact of electric cars for reaching net zero. It’s almost like narrative, not data, is driving policy.
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
I've been writing about books, authors and the Cambridge Ladies' Dining Society for two years now on Substack. If you fancy joining the (virtual) tour, there's a special offer this week.
My second Substack anniversary...
...and other reasons to celebrate
akennedysmith.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:37 AM
I've been writing about books, authors and the Cambridge Ladies' Dining Society for two years now on Substack. If you fancy joining the (virtual) tour, there's a special offer this week.
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
No way I’m sharing Stock’s UnHerd article. But I am going to point to this bit which amply demonstrates the anti-trans=>anti-women’s rights pipeline. “Abortions should only be done for a highly restricted set of reasons. They should not be just nodded through for any reason a pregnant woman likes.”
November 21, 2025 at 10:55 AM
No way I’m sharing Stock’s UnHerd article. But I am going to point to this bit which amply demonstrates the anti-trans=>anti-women’s rights pipeline. “Abortions should only be done for a highly restricted set of reasons. They should not be just nodded through for any reason a pregnant woman likes.”
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
Shabana Mahmood's proposal to stop being told to "go back home" is to send people "home". Her proposal to stop black and brown people from feeling like they don't belong, is to bake in to the immigration system that they will never belong.
November 20, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Shabana Mahmood's proposal to stop being told to "go back home" is to send people "home". Her proposal to stop black and brown people from feeling like they don't belong, is to bake in to the immigration system that they will never belong.
A wee trailer for the about-to-be-released interactive 3D model of the Empire Exhibition of 1938. The original modelling of all these pavilions was done in 2007. This new app incorporates archival materials and quotes from contemporary Glaswegians.
#Glasgow #history #research #playfulLearning #3D
#Glasgow #history #research #playfulLearning #3D
November 20, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
Call for papers #CFP
Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health and Welfare in Britain and Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present
18 June 2026: 1 day conference + NUM archive exhibition
Submit abstracts / express interest at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...
Deadline: 25 Jan 2026
Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health and Welfare in Britain and Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present
18 June 2026: 1 day conference + NUM archive exhibition
Submit abstracts / express interest at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...
Deadline: 25 Jan 2026
November 20, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Call for papers #CFP
Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health and Welfare in Britain and Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present
18 June 2026: 1 day conference + NUM archive exhibition
Submit abstracts / express interest at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...
Deadline: 25 Jan 2026
Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health and Welfare in Britain and Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present
18 June 2026: 1 day conference + NUM archive exhibition
Submit abstracts / express interest at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...
Deadline: 25 Jan 2026
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
May their memories move us to keep fighting for a world where all trans people are free.
This #TransgenderDayOfRememberance, we remember the over 280 trans people killed globally this year and the many more lost to suicide.
They deserved to live safely, without fear, and to be fully who they are.
May their memories move us to keep fighting for a world where all trans people are free.
They deserved to live safely, without fear, and to be fully who they are.
May their memories move us to keep fighting for a world where all trans people are free.
November 20, 2025 at 10:45 AM
May their memories move us to keep fighting for a world where all trans people are free.
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
'The UK should establish a network of “disruptive invention” labs outside of the university system to pursue frontier science and technology'. (Tony Blair Institute)
The UK should stabilise the disrupted university system before faffing about with shiny new disruptive networks. (actual researcher)
The UK should stabilise the disrupted university system before faffing about with shiny new disruptive networks. (actual researcher)
UK needs new ‘disruptive’ labs for frontier science, says think tank.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
November 20, 2025 at 10:14 AM
'The UK should establish a network of “disruptive invention” labs outside of the university system to pursue frontier science and technology'. (Tony Blair Institute)
The UK should stabilise the disrupted university system before faffing about with shiny new disruptive networks. (actual researcher)
The UK should stabilise the disrupted university system before faffing about with shiny new disruptive networks. (actual researcher)
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
The fact that in the UK, our government is content that roads are for car owners and sidewalks are also for car owners is actually a pretty good window into the politics of this country as a whole.
Pavement parking impacts everyone and is a major barrier to walking and wheeling local journeys.
The result of the national pavement parking consultation is long overdue and we cannot afford to wait, so want to see marked bays and measures on a street-by-street basis.
The result of the national pavement parking consultation is long overdue and we cannot afford to wait, so want to see marked bays and measures on a street-by-street basis.
Woman calls for pavement parking ban after falling out wheelchair on school run
Aideen Blackborough was left lying in the road after being forced to manoeuvre her way around a vehicle blocking the pavement in Great Barr
www.birminghammail.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 9:05 AM
The fact that in the UK, our government is content that roads are for car owners and sidewalks are also for car owners is actually a pretty good window into the politics of this country as a whole.
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
I have also to say, again, shame on the UK Supreme Court. Whatever led us here, it is absolutely not its apolitical application of the law.
Am increasingly with the very senior UK barrister who is telling her colleagues: "at least with the US Supreme Court you know what their politics are."
Am increasingly with the very senior UK barrister who is telling her colleagues: "at least with the US Supreme Court you know what their politics are."
At least it's honest, right? Intrusive questioning of women who don't conform to norms about how they should look, and women then being banned if they tell their inquisitor to mind his own sodding business, has always been the logical end point for the patriarchal project that is TERFdom.
November 20, 2025 at 8:58 AM
I have also to say, again, shame on the UK Supreme Court. Whatever led us here, it is absolutely not its apolitical application of the law.
Am increasingly with the very senior UK barrister who is telling her colleagues: "at least with the US Supreme Court you know what their politics are."
Am increasingly with the very senior UK barrister who is telling her colleagues: "at least with the US Supreme Court you know what their politics are."
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
It is SUCH a pain to encounter pavement-parked vehicles when in my wheelchair. Drives me round the bend.
Pavement parking impacts everyone and is a major barrier to walking and wheeling local journeys.
The result of the national pavement parking consultation is long overdue and we cannot afford to wait, so want to see marked bays and measures on a street-by-street basis.
The result of the national pavement parking consultation is long overdue and we cannot afford to wait, so want to see marked bays and measures on a street-by-street basis.
Woman calls for pavement parking ban after falling out wheelchair on school run
Aideen Blackborough was left lying in the road after being forced to manoeuvre her way around a vehicle blocking the pavement in Great Barr
www.birminghammail.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 9:01 AM
It is SUCH a pain to encounter pavement-parked vehicles when in my wheelchair. Drives me round the bend.
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
Pavement parking impacts everyone and is a major barrier to walking and wheeling local journeys.
The result of the national pavement parking consultation is long overdue and we cannot afford to wait, so want to see marked bays and measures on a street-by-street basis.
The result of the national pavement parking consultation is long overdue and we cannot afford to wait, so want to see marked bays and measures on a street-by-street basis.
Woman calls for pavement parking ban after falling out wheelchair on school run
Aideen Blackborough was left lying in the road after being forced to manoeuvre her way around a vehicle blocking the pavement in Great Barr
www.birminghammail.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Pavement parking impacts everyone and is a major barrier to walking and wheeling local journeys.
The result of the national pavement parking consultation is long overdue and we cannot afford to wait, so want to see marked bays and measures on a street-by-street basis.
The result of the national pavement parking consultation is long overdue and we cannot afford to wait, so want to see marked bays and measures on a street-by-street basis.
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
We are delighted to announce we are publishing @jennychambles.bsky.social's bold exploration of how queerness & nature entwine in July 2026.
'Q is for garden' blends memoir, history & cultural criticism, drawing on the histories of queer gardeners, botanists, artists & agriculturalists. #booksky
'Q is for garden' blends memoir, history & cultural criticism, drawing on the histories of queer gardeners, botanists, artists & agriculturalists. #booksky
November 20, 2025 at 8:53 AM
We are delighted to announce we are publishing @jennychambles.bsky.social's bold exploration of how queerness & nature entwine in July 2026.
'Q is for garden' blends memoir, history & cultural criticism, drawing on the histories of queer gardeners, botanists, artists & agriculturalists. #booksky
'Q is for garden' blends memoir, history & cultural criticism, drawing on the histories of queer gardeners, botanists, artists & agriculturalists. #booksky
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
Sometimes I build Time Machines.…
November 16, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Sometimes I build Time Machines.…
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
What is motonormativity? I'm on my way to an air pollution event in a city centre and the organisers have put the driving directions ahead of the public transport directions in the email
November 20, 2025 at 8:14 AM
What is motonormativity? I'm on my way to an air pollution event in a city centre and the organisers have put the driving directions ahead of the public transport directions in the email
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
Applications are now invited for the Society's 2026-27 Centenary PhD Fellowships for early career historians completing a doctorate bit.ly/48pWB72
Fellowships provide support of £8500 per award for 6 months and are held jointly with @ihr.bsky.social. Closing date: 31 January 2026 #Skystorians
Fellowships provide support of £8500 per award for 6 months and are held jointly with @ihr.bsky.social. Closing date: 31 January 2026 #Skystorians
Applications invited for the Society's Centenary PhD Fellowships, 2026-27 - RHS
Applications are now invited for the Royal Historical Society’s Centenary PhD Fellowships to support postgraduate historians to complete a doctorate. Two Fellowships, of six months each, are offered f...
bit.ly
November 20, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Applications are now invited for the Society's 2026-27 Centenary PhD Fellowships for early career historians completing a doctorate bit.ly/48pWB72
Fellowships provide support of £8500 per award for 6 months and are held jointly with @ihr.bsky.social. Closing date: 31 January 2026 #Skystorians
Fellowships provide support of £8500 per award for 6 months and are held jointly with @ihr.bsky.social. Closing date: 31 January 2026 #Skystorians
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
This is the “gender-critical” transphobes giving up on their bio-determinism & saying it is gender (ie. The socially & culturally determined performative) that defines a woman.
By producing this “guidance”, organised transphobia has effectively conceded defeat in its “sex vs gender” war.
1/2
By producing this “guidance”, organised transphobia has effectively conceded defeat in its “sex vs gender” war.
1/2
November 20, 2025 at 7:06 AM
This is the “gender-critical” transphobes giving up on their bio-determinism & saying it is gender (ie. The socially & culturally determined performative) that defines a woman.
By producing this “guidance”, organised transphobia has effectively conceded defeat in its “sex vs gender” war.
1/2
By producing this “guidance”, organised transphobia has effectively conceded defeat in its “sex vs gender” war.
1/2
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
This has to be one of of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century from March 1907. Sixteen years old suffragette Dora Thewlis. A poor mill worker from Honley in Huddersfield she was a member of the Women's Social and Political Union At a demonstration in London she is
November 20, 2025 at 6:39 AM
This has to be one of of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century from March 1907. Sixteen years old suffragette Dora Thewlis. A poor mill worker from Honley in Huddersfield she was a member of the Women's Social and Political Union At a demonstration in London she is
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
I don't know how they achieve it but Labour just keeps finding new ways to make things even worse.
Another "Benefit of the Union"
Labour plot to slash electricity prices for AI companies while families struggle
www.thenational.scot/news/2563567...
Labour plot to slash electricity prices for AI companies while families struggle
www.thenational.scot/news/2563567...
Labour plot to slash electricity prices for AI companies while families struggle
LABOUR are planning to cut electricity prices for tech companies while energy bills continue to leave families struggling, The National can reveal.
www.thenational.scot
November 19, 2025 at 7:53 PM
I don't know how they achieve it but Labour just keeps finding new ways to make things even worse.
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
‘A puppy and unlimited toilet paper’ make me wonder if she is trying to re-enact those Andrex advertisements from 1980s Britain. To what end?
November 19, 2025 at 1:44 PM
‘A puppy and unlimited toilet paper’ make me wonder if she is trying to re-enact those Andrex advertisements from 1980s Britain. To what end?
Reposted by Matt Houlbrook
So excited to share the UK cover of my forthcoming book THE TRAVELLER ... which is about a quite remarkable human being. George Forster, a man who tried to find what connects us rather than what sets us apart - he saw unity behind our diversity, not discord and division.
November 19, 2025 at 1:17 PM
So excited to share the UK cover of my forthcoming book THE TRAVELLER ... which is about a quite remarkable human being. George Forster, a man who tried to find what connects us rather than what sets us apart - he saw unity behind our diversity, not discord and division.