(Dr) Debbie Challis

Married Life for Mary. 1. The (normally) unseen work of housekeeping Mary Severn Newton had two jobs in her married life – artist and mistress of a household – and struggled to do both. She has my sympathy!

Mary Severn Newton had two jobs in her married life – artist and mistress of a household – and struggled to do both in the 1860s. She has my sympathy!

What she depicts so well is that struggle, often humorously, in her sketches. New blog: www.debbiechallis.com/post/married...

Went to ENO’s Cosi Fan Tutti at Bridgewater Hall. Seemed rather apt given the new @alexpodyssey.bsky.social episode on Pandora, & discussing all the misogyny that telling that story entails.

The music sublime. And with my bf - we used to go to eno as our treat & now she is an exec director of it.

Thanks so much. It was a really enjoyable conversation and very much recommend the book -especially for understanding some of the shifts in these isles now.

Thanks to the wonderful @poisonchallis.bsky.social and @porticolibrary.bsky.social for last night's fantastic launch event for 'These Isles: A People's History of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales' (HarperNorth).

This was a very nice evening with @groomb.bsky.social - despite having been here a while now first time at the Portico Library too.

PANDORA: Worst. Unboxing. Video. Ever. Podcast Episode · Alex Andreou's Podyssey · 25 February · 1h 31m

🆕 2.2 PANDORA: Worst. Unboxing. Video. Ever. 📦

Wicked troublemaker or the victim of history's longest smear campaign? This episode is one WILD ride. And it includes some of my favourite cinematic references.

🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/4E7j...

🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...

This coming Thursday evening, publication day. Just a few tickets left.

And on the overshadowing of your work by a husband (or father or brother), still haven't forgiven @0tralala.bsky.social for turning some of my PhD on Newton into a short Dr Who story for some Dalek book. Before I had published a word on him! I just wish I didn't enjoy reading it & it making me laugh

Married Life for Mary: Speculation and Sketches The visibility and invisibility of the lives of Charles Thomas Newton and Mary Severn Newton. How can we read and write a Victorian marriage?

New blog post on life writing and thinking about invisibility of women and men from the past. How do you write a marriage? How do you uncover intimacy?
www.debbiechallis.com/post/married...

Dr Debbie Challis

🧵 We’re happy to announce that our Creative Producer, Dr Debbie Challis, is an International participant at this year's Literary Programmers Roundtable for Melbourne City of Literature's Melbourne / Naarm Literary Festival...

I loved doing this! It’s really nice to speak to people & hear from them about Greece, art & myth. Looking forward to more conversations.

Public Engagement with Eugenics in the Academy Exhibitions and Events across Higher Education Institutions Abstract. This collective report details the authors’ engagement with the legacies of eugenics through curating exhibitions and events at higher education

There is now author access to my co-written article on curating programmes around historic eugenics @royalsociety.org
I did this work 10+ years ago. It is tragic that eugenic ideas moved to the mainstream, in part due to a fellow of my publisher - the RS 🤷🏻‍♀️
royalsocietypublishing.org/rsnr/article...

I’ve been there. Hope things get better tomorrow. All power.

Looking forward to speaking to @alexpodyssey.bsky.social followers this Thursday on Prometheus.

Here is the first illustrated edition of Frankenstein or A Modern Prometheus from @porticolibrary.bsky.social. Thinking about Prometheus has also made me think about Frankenstein.

The first Podyssey Illustrated Guide will be sent out on Wednesday evening, together with the invitation to the first live Q&A on Thursday 8pm with @poisonchallis.bsky.social.

Make sure you are signed up to www.ko-fi.com/podyssey before then.

Cannot wait to see all your gorgeous faces.

A x

Coffee, pastry & chocolate

The end of the book is nigh.

And Podyssey is back. Have massively missed doing this & can’t wait to get back to it once book am editing is finished!

This is a lovely exhibition @thejohnrylands.bsky.social online from my colleague Susana. Interesting on social media/ political uses too.

www.digitalexhibitions.manchester.ac.uk/s/x-stands-f...

Trump Scolds Female Reporter For Being Adult

Trump Scolds Female Reporter For Being Adult

How to name a Dalek in Linnaean style (aka with some Greek) courtesy of @davehone.bsky.social with the help of @alexpodyssey.bsky.social. It amuses so much that political commentator @sturdyalex.bsky.social is now dr who canon. 🤣🤣🤣

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Hidden Treasures, A Criminal Practice by Terrance Dicks Idealistic Matthew Larrabie joins his uncle's firm of solicitors.

On 12 February, Radio 4 Extra is repeating A Criminal Practice, a comic play by Terrance Dicks a year before he joined Doctor Who. I’ll share some background details nearer the time. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Excited about this - on now!

The Beast In Me - Ancient Greece And Its Pets Podcast Episode · Alex Andreou's Podyssey · 01/02/2026 · Bonus · 41m

*PODYSSEY SEASON TWO IS HERE*
New Bonus Episode: The Beast In Me

Did the Ancient Greeks have pets? Well, it's quite complicated, often very sweet... and sometimes a little bit weird. @sturdyalex.bsky.social

🎧 LISTEN AND SHARE
🍊 open.spotify.com/episode/5U4O...
🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...

Group of people sat in a circle

Sketch of a young woman’s face

Front of a book poems by Christina Rosetti

Glass on a dome

Lovely photo of our yoga class at the end of their practice today @porticolibrary.bsky.social. Taking inspiration from Christina Rossetti to get through January, got out a beautiful book published posthumously - sketch of her by her brother Dante Gabriel & edited by other brother William Michael.

Such a wonderful evening @porticolibrary.bsky.social listening to @poisonchallis.bsky.social talk about the history of the library and highlights from the collection.
Never expected to meet a 1st edition of Jane Eyre, nor a 1st edition of the illustrated Frankenstein - such a special treat 🙂

Aww! Thank you 🙏

A photo of a statue in an outside gallery. You can see bright sky and cypress trees in the background

On cold, wet, rainy English mornings, we like to spirit ourselves back to the sunny, bright, warm Agora in Athens 🌞 👍🏛️🍑 #MuseumBums

The Disappearing of Old Feminist Clitoral Knowledge | HOWL I was invited to speak at an art gallery about women’s liberation publications. My emphasis was on the transformation of visual art. But of course that isn’t the only story.

Clitoral Truth
I have never had a climax
No! I swear!
It’s the clitoral truth.

By Margaret S. Chalmers
Spare Rib 39, September 1975

In Women’s Health, A Spare Rib Reader edited by Sue O’Sullivan

Pandora Press, London 1987
howl-uk.org/the-disappea...

Andy Burnham visits The Portico

Andy Burnham visits The Portico

Andy Burnham visits The Portico

🧵 Last Wednesday, we took a big step forward in the Portico Reunited project...

Finally finishing Caliban and the Witch by silvi Federici. It’s been a dense & often hard read - partly intellectually, partly emotionally. The long reach & scope of what constitutes witchcraft globally & economically eye opening.