Dr Janette Leaf

Happy Birthday to Beatrix Potter: born 28 July 1866! An incredible woman: a writer, illustrator, nature lover and natural scientist, botanist, mycologist, entomologist, zoologist, archaeologist . . .

When you are determining where to submit your scholarly essay for potential publication & you opt not to send it to a specific journal bc their publisher is, say, licensing “content” to train AI — please tell the journal editor. This info is crucial for editors but shadowy / difficult to document.

It was really great to see you, Jen! I also loved the shoutout to @britishlibrary.bsky.social Tales of the Weird editors in your talk, especially as @dremilyvincent.bsky.social, @pamplemoussepam.bsky.social & I were all sat near each other. Pam spotted our books in ‪@blackwelloxford.bsky.social‬! x

I absolutely loved our panel too! It was wonderful to present alongside you and to chat! Your research is amazing and your 'thanks for listening' slide one of the very best. Hope to see you soon at another event! 🪲💀

Thanks very much! 🪲

#BAVS2025 you were a blast! 5 x Birkbeck papers from @drvickymills.bsky.social @nonfictioness.bsky.social @helenaesser.bsky.social Julia Kuehn and me! Great to hang with @jeremynewton64.bsky.social too! Such fun and sociability with so many great #Victorian scholars! @19birkbeck.bsky.social

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Puts 490,000 High-Res Images Online & Makes Them Free to Use Update: The Metropolitan Museum of Art has put online 492,000 high-resolution images of artistic works. Even better, the museum has placed the vast majority of these images into the public domain, mea...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Puts 490,000 High-Res Images Online & Makes Them Free to Use

CFP for Sex in the #19thC (deets in alt)

Abstracts (300 words), biographies (100 words), and should be submitted on Monday 22d September 2025 to rrr @ soton.ac.uk. Please
indicate if you would like to be considered for a travel bursary, and include your full name, discipline & institution.

WeTransfer TOS says they can use all your uploaded content for genAI

Bye forever, WeTransfer.

It will be so great meeting in person! Really looking forward to your Gothic panel on Friday too! x

This is really good news, not least because it's some sort of recognition of the huge amount you do! It definitely deserves celebration and congratulation! I'm really happy for you!

Two figures approach the Baggage Reclaim area of an airport. One says “We wouldn't need to put things in the hold if you brought fewer books on holiday.” Arriving on the carousel, amongst the bags and suitcases is a very large, well-stocked bookcase.

My cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com books.

This is such fun! And many congratulations on your doctorate!

Architect Alfred Waterhouse born #OTD 1830 to a Liverpool Quaker family. Buildings include Manchester Town Hall, London’s Natural History Museum, Liverpool University's Victoria building. His love of red brick and terracotta led to him being nicknamed 'Slaughterhouse Waterhouse'.

Just to give a flavour of Birkbeck C19th doings at #VPFAExtremes ! @19birkbeck.bsky.social @drvickymills.bsky.social @luisacale.bsky.social @theprofrog.bsky.social @andrewkingc19.bsky.social @helenaesser.bsky.social

Also, if you're working on C19 sources, see @patrickleary.bsky.social's invaluable list of open-access 19th-c periodicals here:

‪Still buzzing after an amazing #VPFAextremes conference! What a treat to hear so many talented speakers and to present on Hypnotic Gothic alongside Birkbeck pals!
@vpfa.bsky.social #Gothic #victorian

One of the things I enjoyed pre submission was generating word clouds for each of my chapters. Bizarrely, it helped with re-structuring. I was also obsessive about keeping track of my wordcount for the intro, each chapter & conclusion to make sure it didn't become unbalanced! You're nearly there!

Delighted to welcome my splendid colleagues at @issegyptomania.bsky.social to Bluesky 🦋. Please consider giving them a follow on this platform, or even in becoming a member, they do incredible work on the reception of ancient Egypt and host numerous online lectures, seminars, and conferences!

New exhibition launching at the Guildhall Art Gallery, London, soon!

One of the most remarkable artists of her generation, Evelyn De Morgan, is returning to Guildhall Art Gallery this April in an exhibition that premieres two newly restored artworks.

Find out more: bit.ly/3QftfhI

Go follow our friends at the De Morgan Foundation, who have just joined Blue Sky. They have the most amazing collection of Evelyn De Morgan art and William De Morgan ceramics.

Roses are red
Violets are purple
Brain's flailing about
Like an upside-down turtle!

#AcademicValentine #AmNotWriing

Oooooh! Not yet, but sorely tempted!

B&w photo of two people sitting in front of Grant Wood’s painting “American Gothic”

The real-life models for Grant Wood’s American Gothic – Nan Wood Graham (Wood's sister) and Dr Byron McKeeby (Wood's dentist) – sitting in front of the painting at an exhibition at the Cedar Rapids Public Library (Wood's hometown) in 1942

May your insects bring more singing and less stinging in the coming year!

Seasons Greetings! Hope you're enjoying it as much as Starevich's 1913 insects gathered around the Christmas tree!

Christina Rossetti was born #otd in 1830. Her poem 'In the Bleak Midwinter' was originally published by Scribners in January 1872 as 'A Christmas Carol'. Gustav Holst set it to music in 1906. It was my father's favourite! @wikivictorian.bsky.social @19birkbeck.bsky.social
@c19qmul.bsky.social

#Macbeth west end. Tennant, as always, was great at Shakespearean unhinged. All sound through headphones. No on-stage witches. Atmospheric music. Minimalist monochrome staging. Glass screen divided acting space. Lady Macbeth's white dress invited blood, but remained spotless! Prefer Terry's beetles!

As a cultural entomologist (among my other C19th preoccupations) I am really happy to see the Rev J. G. Wood up there! I'm citing his Insects at Home (1872) and his Insects Abroad (1874) on a pretty regular basis!

I love the response of @dreframss.bsky.social to the question asked by @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social about which novel demands a Muppet re-make! I couldn't agree more that The Beetle would be an instant hit. I'm suggesting Miss Piggy for Marjorie Lindon, Kermit for Robert Holt & Animal for Atherton!