Lynne Baybut | History Proofreader

A newspaper clipping from 1906 that reads: "Noisy, Hungry Frogs Sadden Farmer's Life. They scare his cattle and they also eat his flannel shirt."

Still, I'm reminded things could be worse...

Newspaper clipping, 1906.

Book cover for VICTORIA’S SECRET: THE PRIVATE PASSION OF A QUEEN by Dr Fern Riddell

Congratulations to @drfernriddell.bsky.social on her blockbuster new book, out today!

It’s full of startling new revelations about Queen Victoria’s secret love life — including a possible (probable?) marriage to John Brown and maaaaaybe a secret lovechild!

Ariadne always has huff and puff, even with a cold!

Listen to our latest episode on Hallowe’en Party now wherever you get your podcasts. linktr.ee/labourshercule

The Women’s History Network Conference is happening in Sep - it is online, FREE, and packed with fascinating sounding papers by archivists, curators, local historians, museum professionals, scholars, etc all about women’s history & archival, library, museum & personal collections.

This time on #LadySwindlers, we meet a female international art thief. It's a great episode, with extensive discussion of the chicness of the French. With illustrator Malike Favre.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

These are trying times.

We get 3 coarse meals.

A figure in a late medieval manuscript drawn on a margin. They are pulling a missing piece of text on a rope and pointing to a place where it should be inserted.

Mistakes happen! If you forget to insert that one sentence in a paragraph the solution is easy. Just draw a dude in a hood and he will pull the missing text to the right place with a piece of rope!

Walters Ms. W.102 Book of Hours, late 13th/early 14th C.

www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/Walters...

Truth.

The cover of ‘Cyanide in the Sun’ edited by Martin Edwards (image is St Ives)

Back cover of ‘Cyanide in the Sun’

The sun has got his hat on… but it’s only to disguise his identity. Early stock in the office of the June Crime Classic ‘Cyanide in the Sun: And Other Stories of Summertime Crime’ edited by @martinedwardsbooks.bsky.social with a special introduction. Out 10/06!

#authorincome #writingtips #aspiringauthor #writings #authors

A black and white photo from the First World War. There is a soldier seated in the foreground. He is wearing a metal mask that has a mustache. Behind him is a woman holding a paint brush. This is Anna Coleman Ladd, the artist who created the mask.

During #WW1, artists like Anna Coleman Ladd created masks for disfigured soldiers. The metal was painted with hard enamel to resemble the recipient's skin tone. Ladd used real hair to create the eyelashes, eyebrows and moustaches. Had it not been for her efforts, many would have lived in isolation.

this whole thread by @orkneylibrary.bsky.social is a veritable feast for your Friday lunchtime (or breakfast, or dinner, or midnight feast, depending)

The June 2025 issue of History Today is in all good newsagents now!

Featuring: Samuel Pepys, Victorian creationism, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, spies of the Black Chamber, medieval queens, and more.

For more information, head to buff.ly/kG3UbyI

Today in 1937 Tommy Woodrooffe, a very drunk broadcaster, commentated on a Royal Navy Fleet Review. Only for a few minutes, until they faded him out. #CareerGoals.

Delighted to the after dinner speaker at this glorious Gothic weekend. In person and online tickets available.

Don't mention this card to No. 8. They won't be getting one.

I’ve just finished The Book of Secrets by @annamazz.bsky.social, which is excellent - I couldn’t put it down! Based on the true story of Girolama Spana, the infamous 17th century Italian poisoner, and her female associates, it is a fascinating read and a gripping plot. Highly recommended!

My next book SLEUTH-HOUND will be a whirlwind tour of Victorian forensics from the perspective of Joseph Bell, the man who loaned a voice and razor-sharp logic to Baker St.’s famous resident: Sherlock Holmes.

I'm hard at work on the manuscript and cant wait to share this incredible story with you!

A screenshot of the Apple Podcasts website, showing Top Trailers. Among the trailers listed is a trailer for Absolute Units, the official MERL podcast.

this is not a drill: our podcast trailer is currently being featured on the Apple Podcasts homepage‼️

Big news: Professor Rosalind Crone and I are back to our criminal enterprises!
At least, we're on location recording the new series of ... drumroll ... #LadySwindlers !!
Coming soon to @bbcradio4 and @bbcsounds 😃

YouTube video by BBC Towards Zero | Official Trailer - BBC

Towards Zero trailer - on BBC One and iPlayer from 2 March #AgathaChristie youtu.be/uPmRXdzq-O4?...

Lottie, our two-year-old Sprocker Spaniel, displays the most recent edition of my novel The Wood Wife, winner of the Mythopoeic Award, published by Tor Books.

Sprocker Assist & Rescue, a nonprofit organisation that rehomes Sprocker Spaniels, is holding a fundraising auction right now. In honour of our Sprocker, Lottie, I've donated a copy of my novel The Wood Wife -- which I'll sign and mail to the winning bidder anywhere in the world. More info below...

With thanks to the woman who did the typing – Lucienne Boyce In 1938 Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, one of the leaders of the Women’s Social & Political Union (WSPU), published her autobiography, My Part in a Changing World. In it she noted, “My thanks are d…

To mark the Representation of the People Act getting Royal Assent #OTD 6 February in 1918, we’ll be sharing some of our blogs about people who campaigned for the vote.

First up, “With thanks to the woman who did the typing” by Lucienne Boyce.

womenshistorynetwork.org/with-thanks-...

#GenderHist

A round wooden disc with the numbers from 1 to 12, and a hand, like a clock.

This is a smugglers' 'game', which in reality charted the timings of covert smuggling operations on the Isle of Wight. If you'd like to know about this shady historic crime, join me for a talk on Sat 22 Feb at 2pm. All proceeds going to Brading Roman Villa 👉 bradingromanvilla.org.uk/whats-on/smu...

I often stumble upon fascinating, niche histories on #Bluesky - which is why this place is so refreshing to me.

The Agatha Christie memorial, London. It is a bronze book with a cut out circle in the middle, in which is a bust of the author. It has her signature on and her birth and death dates. It is decorated with theatre curtains at the top and bottom.

I passed by the Agatha Christie memorial in central London at the weekend. It celebrates the Queen of Crime’s contribution to theatre, notably The Mousetrap, which is the world’s longest running play. She was also the first woman to have three plays running at the same time in the West End.

Them: Why don’t you join us for NYE?
Me:

Digital art, Karl-Marx dressed in Santa Claus colors red with white.

When AI comes up with fine Christmas stills of Father Christmas. Look! It's Santa Karl! ... Apparently he brings books and radical political and economical concepts. 😮

#digitalart #ai #humor #christmas #crhistmas2024

Don’t look for heroes or heroines in history. Most people in the past won’t live up to our ideals. Look for complex individuals who did some admirable things and may have done some atrocious things, and study them for who they were within their own time.