Leah-thais

The Fire and the Worms: Infernal Affairs at the Carolingian Court “If I can save 7,000 people a week from getting killed, that’s pretty good. I want to try and get to heaven, if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole…

Today on the blog, we descend into a dark, dangerous underworld to answer the question, is Charlemagne in hell? #medievalsky

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When grownups with power talk about “adult authority”, what they often seem to mean is “treat me like authority, or I won’t treat you like a person.”

Got to admire the effort!

And when they eventually arrive, they will not look as good as the pans in the ad.

I wonder how often they do this to men, rather than women?

A North Sea Ferries boarding card for the Rotterdam to Hull route, dated April 1993.

We recently found this in one of our books.
The “Baby” in question is now in his 30s!

🤦‍♀️

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

Makes me think of K M Peyton’s Marion’s Angels.

In my household there was one healthy meal prepared for all to eat. If you didn’t want it you went hungry! No problem!

Actually, I think there is a problem with this & it is that whoever controls the shopping doesn’t buy & cook the foods they don’t like (I know I didn’t when I was cooking for my kids) so it’s hardly fair to accuse children of being fussy if served something they don’t like.

You couldn’t make it up.
Shameless.

What I’m here for!

A brilliant, angry, beautiful poem.

‘I don’t ask why, because it is mostly the same.
Wars happen because the ones who start them
think they can win.’

Wtaf

Pachyderm Presents: Elephant Diplomacy in the Twenty-First Century I’m delighted to be able to announce that my book, The Emperor and the Elephant: Christians and Muslims in the Age of Charlemagne, is coming out in paperback on 23 September 2025![1] In addition to…

Today on the blog, I celebrate the forthcoming paperback release of The Emperor and the Elephant by looking at elephant diplomacy in the twenty-first century. #elephant #diplomacy @princetonupress.bsky.social

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The good news we all need:

Congratulations!
First everything your child knows comes from you. Then they go to nursery or school & proudly come home with what they learn there. (“Ms Carruthers says pants first, then trousers!”). Eventually they are introducing you to stuff you previously knew nothing about & it’s brilliant!

A pile of beautiful books, distinguished by their elegant gold cover with purple elephant, in a cardboard box.

A pile of said books arrayed alluringly, some might say seductively, on a wooden table.

A familiar cover, now in PAPERBACK courtesy of @princetonupress.bsky.social! #medieval #elephant

Missing Myths: The Lost Legends of the Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós A little while ago I paid a visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna to look at the Bruegels. I found myself gazing at a painting of a sixteenth-century army, helmeted men with pikes aloft, …

Today on the blog - gold, griffins and the lost legends of the Avars.
#medievalsky #Wien

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Love ebook pre-ordering - do it, forget about it & then get a lovely surprise!
Looking forward to this because the last one left me hanging - it’s all very well joining forces to defeat the power of evil, but what about Dan & Finele?

Voting should be easier than buying guns.

“It matters because the ‘Dark Ages’ is part of the story we tell ourselves about humans & how they work, and therefore getting it right has an impact on how we understand ourselves.”
Interesting read (especially in these “interesting” times).

A copy of the book “The Emperor and the Elephant” by Sam Ottewill-Soulsby.

Had not heard of the latter & am intrigued to read it!
Here is another book published by Princeton!

Wondering which of the classics listed you wrote about?

And American city leaders are worried about ebike riders killing people.

The thing is, it’s a more important piece of white American history.

Worth the read, and for more people than academics.

Salmon seems so boring - harissa should liven it up!

These days, make sure you're really buying what you want to buy online. Also, if you see news that a favourite author has written something unexpected, unless that comes verifiably direct from them or their publisher, double and triple check that it isn't one of these increasingly prevalent frauds.

Book cover for Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Book cover for Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins

Book cover for The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones.

Book cover for When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr

In honour of the great Allan Ahlberg, who died yesterday, I wanted to use this #KidsBooksFriday to celebrate all the great children’s writers who formed us as readers. For me, along with Ahlberg, it was Pat Hutchins, Judith Kerr and Diana Wynne Jones. Who would you celebrate? #KidLitUK #KidLit