Prince of Tricksters is now published
I wrote a book: Prince of Tricksters: The Incredible True Story of Netley Lucas, Gentleman Crook is about a storytelling gentleman crook, British society and culture in the 1920s and 1930s, … Continue reading
‘Halfway between Eddie Redmayne and a young Hugh Grant’ – first review of Prince of Tricksters
Here is the opening paragraph of the first review of Prince of Tricksters: The Incredible True Story of Netley Lucas, Gentleman Crook to appear (it’s in the June / July issue … Continue reading
Pinning down the Prince of Tricksters
Originally posted on Modern British Studies Birmingham:
Matt Houlbrook So what’s it about then? Good question. It doesn’t get any easier to explain what Prince of Tricksters: The Incredible True…
Haunted by you
If you have made a life for the dead and gone, then they can see you. You, the biographer, are real to them, in their obdurate, irritating individuality (which you … Continue reading
What is a successful book?
It is almost time. It is almost that time. In the next few days hard copies of Prince of Tricksters: The Incredible True Story of Netley Lucas, Gentleman Crook will … Continue reading
Hidden Objects and Untold Histories
Originally posted on Modern British Studies Birmingham:
There are stories bound up in objects which are hidden in plain sight. A pot donkey silently carries memories down through generations; an…
This is why I ride
This is why I ride. A mid-life crisis becomes an annual event, and a trip to Mallorca becomes a chance to escape. Like history, life looks different over … Continue reading
What do we talk about when we talk about doing history?
What do we talk about when we talk about doing history? A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog about the dull aches and low grade anxieties that … Continue reading
Choices
Right now I am very tired. A long term, a shit year, and too many months playing catch-up since my Dad was in hospital. This is why I am very … Continue reading
Page proofed and indexed out
I sent a book manuscript out into the world, and it came back looking like a book. No longer half-hidden half-revealed in the esoteric symbols and arcane language of … Continue reading