Writer, historian, FRHistS. Recent: @HistoryToday, @EngelsbergIdeas, @spectator, @FoxedQuarterly. Books: The Favourite, Impossible Journeys, There & Back Again
London
Joined March 2009
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Hi folks. I’ve started a Substack called The Broken Compass. The plan is for it to feature essays and book reviews, thoughts and reflections on my current research and reading, and, I hope, interviews with other historians and authors.
open.substack.com/pub/mathew…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
The peerless @peteralanross on the life and afterlife of Edwin Morgan & his place in private and public Scottish histories.
Please do set aside a little time today to read it. It's a breathtaking piece of writing – subtle, profound & deeply moving.
smallfinds.substack.com/p/ex…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
I wrote about what fun it was judging the @HistoriaHWA non-fiction award this summer.
mathewlyons.substack.com/p/a…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
I’ve recommended some of my favourite history books! 📚
Every historian has read books that have helped shape their perspective. Discover the books that have inspired @drfrancisyoung, from histories of religion to works that challenge perceptions of belief.
Browse his selection on our @bookshop_org_UK page ⬇️📚
uk.bookshop.org/lists/franci…
📕 'Lithuania Ascending' by S. C. Rowell
📕 'Silverwhite' by Lennart Meri
📕 'The Stripping of the Altars' by Eamon Duffy
📕 'They Flew' by Carlos Eire
📕 'The Night Battles' by Carlo Ginzburg
📕 'The Triumph of the Moon' by Ronald Hutton
Can anyone recommend some good histories / biographies covering the German Confederation, the Austrian Empire, and central European politics more broadly – say 1815 to 1870?
The peerless @peteralanross on the life and afterlife of Edwin Morgan & his place in private and public Scottish histories.
Please do set aside a little time today to read it. It's a breathtaking piece of writing – subtle, profound & deeply moving.
smallfinds.substack.com/p/ex…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
This morning’s guest on the Writer’s Bookshelf is the great Carolyn Boyd.
I’m a massive fan of her book Amuse Bouche – a really lovely blend of French travel, food and food culture.
Link to follow…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
Can anyone recommend some good histories / biographies covering the German Confederation, the Austrian Empire, and central European politics more broadly – say 1815 to 1870?
Mathew Lyons retweeted
It’s hard to imagine the effort that went into this good literary deed, this unexpected gift to readers and writers. Fills one with gratitude and hope.
colophont.com/profile/borisd…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
I spoke to @WolfsonHistory about what inspired me to write ‘Silence of the Gods’ 📚
What inspires authors? We spoke with this year’s #WolfsonHistoryPrize shortlisted authors for an insight into their research.
Learn more about @drfrancisyoung and 'Silence of the Gods: The Untold History of Europe's Last Pagan Peoples’ in our Q&A below. @cambridgeup⬇️
wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/q…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
In which I enthuse about the prospect of my first Narnia book being launched in the US...
I wrote about what fun it was judging the @HistoriaHWA non-fiction award this summer.
mathewlyons.substack.com/p/a…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
“Because he takes his subject seriously, Young can suggest that more is at stake in a history of fairy belief than the question of when fairies were first portrayed as being tiny, cute creatures with wings.” Thank you to Liam Guilar for his review of ‘Fairies: A History’ 📚🧚♀️
Liam Guilar reviews Francis Young's 'Fairies' - brazen-head.org/2026/09/15/m… @liamguilar @DrFrancisYoung @politybooks @FolkloreSociety @englishfolkexpo @ghostsofwales @StephenGeoRae @FolkloreIreland @DerekTurner1964
Mathew Lyons retweeted
Congrats on publication Annie Whitehead! Murder in Anglo-Saxon England is out. From regicides to robberies gone wrong, personal feuds to state-sanctioned slaughter, Whitehead examines motives, and what it says about Anglo-Saxon governance and society. ow.ly/AEI050ZYKLi
Mathew Lyons retweeted
Hurrah. Well done to everyone involved in achieving this.
👏Wonderful news.
SAVE have been campaigning for Mavisbank since the 70s
theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
🇺🇸 Over on my newsletter Hiraeth, I discuss my recent trip to America for TudorCon2026, where I talk highly, the sights, and the food!
Tomorrow, meanwhile, I have a new post going out to my followers. Here's a clue - 🐈⬛.
Make sure you're following:
nathenamin.substack.com/p/i-…
Mathew Lyons retweeted
Coming soon! So excited about this 😀
Here's something to be excited about: "Hoarded Gold: A Book of Old English Wisdom" by Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) will be published by Uppsala Books and available worldwide before the end of November!
Follow us (@UppsalaBooks) for more announcements about this book and other exciting new releases.
Mathew Lyons retweeted
Friends in and around Oxford, I am doing a book event @blackwelloxford on 17 November. Please come along: it would be great to have a decent audience! I'll be in conversation with music writer Philip Clark and will be happy to sign copies. Details here.
eventbrite.co.uk/e/alexandra…
