This is going to be so special - an evening of #history, #poetry and #music in support of the beautiful All Saints Church, #Southbourne. I'll be reading from my book #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, with new content and reflections too. Tickets available now via the QR code or link. #Bournemouth #Dorset
February 11, 2026 at 9:22 AM
This is going to be so special - an evening of #history, #poetry and #music in support of the beautiful All Saints Church, #Southbourne. I'll be reading from my book #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, with new content and reflections too. Tickets available now via the QR code or link. #Bournemouth #Dorset
I couldn't resist a photo of the paving outside the new Mathematical Institute building in #Oxford this week. I'll be back on Sunday 22 March for an #event at the Oxford Literary #Festival, in conversation about #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems with Lucy Thynne. oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-e...
February 7, 2026 at 12:19 PM
I couldn't resist a photo of the paving outside the new Mathematical Institute building in #Oxford this week. I'll be back on Sunday 22 March for an #event at the Oxford Literary #Festival, in conversation about #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems with Lucy Thynne. oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-e...
How brilliant would it be to be in one of @drlauravarnam.bsky.social's tutorials? Last night I kind of got to find out (in a good way!) when we were in conversation about #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems for the @univcollegeoxford.bsky.social Shakespeare Society. What a joy! Lovely to see friends too.
February 5, 2026 at 8:57 AM
How brilliant would it be to be in one of @drlauravarnam.bsky.social's tutorials? Last night I kind of got to find out (in a good way!) when we were in conversation about #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems for the @univcollegeoxford.bsky.social Shakespeare Society. What a joy! Lovely to see friends too.
I used to walk past the #Shelley Memorial every day on the way to my office. Shelley didn't get a whole chapter in #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, but 'Ozymandias' is in there in full, so I reckon he'd be happy!
February 4, 2026 at 3:32 PM
I used to walk past the #Shelley Memorial every day on the way to my office. Shelley didn't get a whole chapter in #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, but 'Ozymandias' is in there in full, so I reckon he'd be happy!
I enjoyed this thoughtful review of my new book in @prospectmagazine.co.uk - feels like the start of a good conversation! Register to read for free. #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/7222...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/7222...
From bums to kings: England in verse
A new history takes 25 poems as its source material. What can it hope to tell us about those compositions, the country and ourselves?
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 28, 2026 at 3:57 PM
I enjoyed this thoughtful review of my new book in @prospectmagazine.co.uk - feels like the start of a good conversation! Register to read for free. #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/7222...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/7222...
On erasing voices: a thread. I’ve been hugely lucky with reviews for #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, but the TLS reviewer doesn’t like it (apparently I write like ChatGPT) 😂💀 But I want to reply here to what I think is the review's double erasure of some of the most marginalised voices and stories. 1/5
January 23, 2026 at 12:24 PM
On erasing voices: a thread. I’ve been hugely lucky with reviews for #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, but the TLS reviewer doesn’t like it (apparently I write like ChatGPT) 😂💀 But I want to reply here to what I think is the review's double erasure of some of the most marginalised voices and stories. 1/5
#History fans and friends in #Bournemouth / #Christchurch #Dorset: join us on Saturday 25 April at All Saints Church, Southbourne. Readings from my new book #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems (plus lots of new reflections and material), and musical interludes together with special guests. Info in AltText.
![A History of England in 25 Poems: An evening of words and music, journeying into 1300 years of England's history. Saturday 25 April 2026, 7pm. All Saints Church, Southbourne. Tickets coming soon - check my social media for info or see:
https://www.facebook.com/events/4346926985538663?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22home%22%7D%2C%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22attachment%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22newsfeed%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:imn5zuyki7dqgziteqzfmlrw/bafkreicmfnzsrgmxtwdy4kovvmwohjrm2dj2a36dq4zpebfwb5ibapfzea@jpeg)
January 20, 2026 at 1:56 PM
#History fans and friends in #Bournemouth / #Christchurch #Dorset: join us on Saturday 25 April at All Saints Church, Southbourne. Readings from my new book #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems (plus lots of new reflections and material), and musical interludes together with special guests. Info in AltText.
Out now! A new #podcast from @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social featuring #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems! I really enjoyed talking to Miranda Melcher and exploring how my new #history #book uses #poetry as a way into the past. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
newbooksnetwork.com/a-history-of...
newbooksnetwork.com/a-history-of...
January 19, 2026 at 9:33 AM
Out now! A new #podcast from @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social featuring #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems! I really enjoyed talking to Miranda Melcher and exploring how my new #history #book uses #poetry as a way into the past. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
newbooksnetwork.com/a-history-of...
newbooksnetwork.com/a-history-of...
How lovely to see #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems as an #audiobook pick from Fiona Sturges The Guardian this week!
(Audiobook of the Week is H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, which I must listen to!) Listen to a sample of me reading my book here:
play.google.com/store/audiob...
#history #book #listen
(Audiobook of the Week is H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, which I must listen to!) Listen to a sample of me reading my book here:
play.google.com/store/audiob...
#history #book #listen
January 17, 2026 at 9:29 PM
How lovely to see #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems as an #audiobook pick from Fiona Sturges The Guardian this week!
(Audiobook of the Week is H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, which I must listen to!) Listen to a sample of me reading my book here:
play.google.com/store/audiob...
#history #book #listen
(Audiobook of the Week is H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, which I must listen to!) Listen to a sample of me reading my book here:
play.google.com/store/audiob...
#history #book #listen
If you've read and enjoyed my book (and think there were the right number of poems), please consider leaving a review! 😊 #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
January 13, 2026 at 3:38 PM
If you've read and enjoyed my book (and think there were the right number of poems), please consider leaving a review! 😊 #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
There are... 25 poems
#AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
#AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
January 13, 2026 at 3:34 PM
There are... 25 poems
#AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
#AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
Welcome new followers! I'm a historian and writer, Director of
@chppc.bsky.social & @vch-home.bsky.social. My new #history book, #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, came out in the UK in 2025 and is coming in the US in 2026 (see AltText). 'A marvellous idea, quite brilliantly realised' -Dominic Sandbrook.
@chppc.bsky.social & @vch-home.bsky.social. My new #history book, #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, came out in the UK in 2025 and is coming in the US in 2026 (see AltText). 'A marvellous idea, quite brilliantly realised' -Dominic Sandbrook.
January 12, 2026 at 8:17 AM
Welcome new followers! I'm a historian and writer, Director of
@chppc.bsky.social & @vch-home.bsky.social. My new #history book, #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, came out in the UK in 2025 and is coming in the US in 2026 (see AltText). 'A marvellous idea, quite brilliantly realised' -Dominic Sandbrook.
@chppc.bsky.social & @vch-home.bsky.social. My new #history book, #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, came out in the UK in 2025 and is coming in the US in 2026 (see AltText). 'A marvellous idea, quite brilliantly realised' -Dominic Sandbrook.
A full house this morning at the Essex Record Office were captivated by @cathamclarke.bsky.social‘s talk about the Battle of Maldon, which features in her wonderful book #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems.
January 6, 2026 at 4:43 PM
A full house this morning at the Essex Record Office were captivated by @cathamclarke.bsky.social‘s talk about the Battle of Maldon, which features in her wonderful book #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems.
Something fun for the first week in January? Come along to #Chelmsford to hear me speak about #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, the Battle of Maldon - and a bit about the amazing VCH #Essex, too. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ero-presen...
January 1, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Something fun for the first week in January? Come along to #Chelmsford to hear me speak about #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, the Battle of Maldon - and a bit about the amazing VCH #Essex, too. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ero-presen...
2/2 Kunial's poem is full of echoes & allusions, inviting us to think about England past, present and future. When I first read it, soon after its publication in 2022, I knew it was the poem I had to end #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems with! A big recommendation for England's Green & all Kunial's work.
December 25, 2025 at 9:02 AM
2/2 Kunial's poem is full of echoes & allusions, inviting us to think about England past, present and future. When I first read it, soon after its publication in 2022, I knew it was the poem I had to end #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems with! A big recommendation for England's Green & all Kunial's work.
2/3 For the audiobook of #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, I was delighted that my former colleague, @ihr.bsky.social Fellow, historian and poet @juanitacox.bsky.social was able to read the poem. Juanita is an expert in Guyanese literature and herself has Guyanese and British heritage. Also... 2/3
December 24, 2025 at 9:01 AM
2/3 For the audiobook of #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, I was delighted that my former colleague, @ihr.bsky.social Fellow, historian and poet @juanitacox.bsky.social was able to read the poem. Juanita is an expert in Guyanese literature and herself has Guyanese and British heritage. Also... 2/3
Match the 5 objects to book chapters... If you've joined us for #TimeTravelAdvent or have been reading #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, have a go at this mini quiz! Happy Christmas, everyone.
December 23, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Match the 5 objects to book chapters... If you've joined us for #TimeTravelAdvent or have been reading #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, have a go at this mini quiz! Happy Christmas, everyone.
2/2 'September Song' challenges us to look at genocide continuing in our world today - in Myanmar, Sudan, Gaza... When, the poem compels us to ask, is 'enough'? Chapter illustration by Edward Bettison. #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
December 22, 2025 at 9:01 AM
2/2 'September Song' challenges us to look at genocide continuing in our world today - in Myanmar, Sudan, Gaza... When, the poem compels us to ask, is 'enough'? Chapter illustration by Edward Bettison. #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
2/5 Back in 2024, I called up a bundle of #Auden documents in Special Collections at Senate House Library. Always a gorgeous place to work, and the site of many discoveries for #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems. The bundle included an autograph copy of 'Stop All the Clocks'...
December 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM
2/5 Back in 2024, I called up a bundle of #Auden documents in Special Collections at Senate House Library. Always a gorgeous place to work, and the site of many discoveries for #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems. The bundle included an autograph copy of 'Stop All the Clocks'...
Shameless note to say that it's not too late to pick up a copy of #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems as a Christmas gift - 100% fully Santa-approved and recommended. 💯✔️🎅 (I reckon the words are pretty good, but the gorgeous illustrations and that stunning dust jacket would make it a treat to unwrap...)
December 19, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Shameless note to say that it's not too late to pick up a copy of #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems as a Christmas gift - 100% fully Santa-approved and recommended. 💯✔️🎅 (I reckon the words are pretty good, but the gorgeous illustrations and that stunning dust jacket would make it a treat to unwrap...)
Still featured in @waterstones.bsky.social @Cardiff @cathamclarke.bsky.social #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems!
December 19, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Still featured in @waterstones.bsky.social @Cardiff @cathamclarke.bsky.social #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems!
#Day18 of our #TimeTravelAdvent and we're on Chapter 18 of #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems: 'Rules and Regulations', written by Lewis Carroll when he was still Charles Dodgson - just 13 years old (1845). What did this poem and its pictures look like in his original home-made 'magazine'? Take a look...
December 18, 2025 at 9:03 AM
#Day18 of our #TimeTravelAdvent and we're on Chapter 18 of #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems: 'Rules and Regulations', written by Lewis Carroll when he was still Charles Dodgson - just 13 years old (1845). What did this poem and its pictures look like in his original home-made 'magazine'? Take a look...
#TimeTravelAdvent #Day16 with #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems: Anna Laetitia Barbauld's fearless reformist poem Eighteen Hundred and Eleven, 1812. The reviews were savage: she was cancelled. This tattered first edition in Senate House Library reminds us of the precarity of this vilified text's survival.
December 16, 2025 at 9:01 AM
#TimeTravelAdvent #Day16 with #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems: Anna Laetitia Barbauld's fearless reformist poem Eighteen Hundred and Eleven, 1812. The reviews were savage: she was cancelled. This tattered first edition in Senate House Library reminds us of the precarity of this vilified text's survival.
Hear me speak about #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems - and the Battle of #Maldon - at the ERO in #Chelmsford, on Tues 6 January. Fascinating #history, #OldEnglish aloud, and showcasing the brilliant work of VCH #Essex. Rumours there'll also be some amazing archaeology in the room... tinyurl.com/mvke3nja
December 15, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Hear me speak about #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems - and the Battle of #Maldon - at the ERO in #Chelmsford, on Tues 6 January. Fascinating #history, #OldEnglish aloud, and showcasing the brilliant work of VCH #Essex. Rumours there'll also be some amazing archaeology in the room... tinyurl.com/mvke3nja
2/2 Wheatley was trafficked from West Africa to America as a child. In her poem, she presents powerful rational and religious arguments for freedom. But ultimately her case rests on her own lived experience and emotion: the authority of 'feeling hearts'. #TimeTravelAdvent #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems
December 15, 2025 at 9:00 AM
2/2 Wheatley was trafficked from West Africa to America as a child. In her poem, she presents powerful rational and religious arguments for freedom. But ultimately her case rests on her own lived experience and emotion: the authority of 'feeling hearts'. #TimeTravelAdvent #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems