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Daisy Dunn

@daisydunn.bsky.social
652 followers 231 following 41 posts

Author and Classicist. Catullus' Bedspread; In the Shadow of Vesuvius; Homer; Of Gods and Men; Not Far From Brideshead; and most recently The Missing Thread: A Women's History of the Ancient World

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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Tonight on PBS in the US we go in search of female #gladiators for a special edition of #Secretsofthedead The episode is reviewed in today’s Wall Street Journal #queensofcombat www.instagram.com/reel/DUDOGRN...
instagram.com
Daisy Dunn on Instagram: "In search of female gladiators…#Queensofcombat airs on @PBS tonight in the US"
10 likes, 1 comments - daisydunnauthor on January 28, 2026: "In search of female gladiators…#Queensofcombat airs on @PBS tonight in the US".
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Natalie Haynes @nataliehaynes.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Today, 9am BST on BBC Radio 4! The brilliant Roman love poet Catullus is the poster boy for teen angst. He feels everything intensely, from the stealing of his favourite napkin to the death of his lover's pet sparrow… My guests are his biographer, Dr @daisydunn.bsky.social, and Prof Llewelyn Morgan!
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Unexpected Learning Journey @unexpectedlj.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
1/7 Spanning three thousand years, from the first stirrings of Minoan Crete to the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, #TheMissingThread by @daisydunn.bsky.social is a fantastic guide to ancient (especially Greco-Roman) history through an incredible cast of women who inhabited and often shaped it.
Lorna's outstretched hand in the process of removing a copy of 'The Missing Thread' by Daisy Dunn from a dark wood bookcase. A variety of ancient-world-related books are visible on the shelves.
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Tiffany Jenkins @tiffanyjenkins.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
“We can trust these male writers” Thoughtful and serious discussion bwt @mathewlyons.bsky.social & @daisydunn.bsky.social on the challenges of ancient history - balancing contemporary questions about women's roles with understanding the past as a foreign place. open.substack.com/pub/mathewly...
open.substack.com
Interview: Daisy Dunn
Recovering the forgotten histories of women in the Ancient World
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Dr Selena Wisnom @lswisnom.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Great interview with @daisydunn.bsky.social about writing about women in antiquity
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Olivia Campbell @oliviacampbell.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
Thanks to @peoplemag.bsky.social for inviting me to write about my fave women's history books and include my own. Featuring @marthasjones.bsky.social @thefrankiedlc.news @melissasevigny.bsky.social @drjaninaramirez.bsky.social @daisydunn.bsky.social
people.com
10 Nonfiction Women's History Books for When You Need Some Real-Life Inspiration
If you loved "Hidden Figures" and "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," check out these other great books on women doing amazing things throughout history.
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
#TheMissingThread is out in UK paperback in 6 weeks with a regal new cover! A new history of the ancient world foregrounded by women: 3,000 years, 500 pages, £12.99. I'd be so grateful if you'd consider pre-ordering a copy from anywhere you like waterstones.com/book/the-mis...
waterstones.com
The Missing Thread by Daisy Dunn | Waterstones
Buy The Missing Thread by Daisy Dunn from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.
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Chalke History Festival @chalkefestival.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Brilliant Alice Loxton asking James May, @thehistoryguy.bsky.social, @daisydunn.bsky.social @tomowolade.bsky.social & Ash Bhardwaj for their tips for 18-year-olds at the Festival last year 👇 We’re thrilled to have @historyalice.bsky.social back this year to discuss her book Eighteen - & much more!
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Natalie Haynes @nataliehaynes.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Look how happy I was to see you! Thanks for continuing to be the best audience in radio last night. Extra thanks to my amazing guests, @daisydunn.bsky.social & @llewelynmorgan.bsky.social, brilliant Beth the producer, & the Broadcasting House team ✨🏛️ These will be hitting the airwaves this summer!
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
For years arguments have been made for dating the eruption of #Vesuvius in AD 79 to some time in autumn. Now, the pendulum is swinging back towards the 'official' date of 24 August. I'm happy to weigh in with some scepticism over this revision www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/s...
nytimes.com
Vesuvius Erupted, but When Exactly?
Two thousand years on, scholars still don’t agree on the day the destruction of Pompeii began. Two new studies only fan the fire.
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Fascinating new study of teeth from the Roman Empire suggests that babies living in cities were breastfed until they were about 2 years old, whereas rural babies were typically weaned later, up to the age of 5 www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Ancient Roman breastfeeding guidelines were followed closely in the cities—but not the hinterlands
Tooth chemistry shines a light on weaning practices across urban and rural communities in the Roman Empire
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Thrilling discovery of a #Pompeii bathhouse! I'm also enthusiastic about the earrings which are of a style called 'crotalia'. They were v fashionable in the 1st century and made little rattling noises as the pearls swung together. Moralist Pliny hated them www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Is the study of Latin in peril? And what does the future hold for the ancient inheritance? 🗣️ @alastairbenn.bsky.social is joined by @daisydunn.bsky.social, @armanddangour.bsky.social, and @paullay.bsky.social to discuss the value of ancient languages. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...
podcasts.apple.com
EI Talks... the case for Classics
Podcast Episode · Engelsberg Ideas Podcasts · 16/01/2025 · 43m
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Dr Mike Beer @mikebeer.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Archaeologists uncover Roman ‘service station’ during roadworks in Gloucester www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Archaeologists uncover Roman ‘service station’ during roadworks in Gloucester
The mutatio, on Ermin Street linking Silchester and Gloucester, would have provided a place for travellers to rest or change horses
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
'Husbands moved to join their wives’ communities upon marriage, with land potentially passed down through the female line' - fascinating new research into ancient genetics pointing to the prominence of women (at least) in Celtic Britain www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
thetimes.com
Women held the power in Celtic Britain, archaeologists suggest
Groundbreaking study indicates that land in the Iron Age was passed through the female line in a society that astonished the invading Romans
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Jo Durrant @jodurrant.co.uk · 14/01/2025
📽️ I’m part of the Gloucester History Festival Winter Warmer Digital Festival! Enjoy my conversations with: @susiedent.com @rentravailer.bsky.social @drjaninaramirez.bsky.social @corinnefowler.bsky.social @daisydunn.bsky.social + many more! www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/winter-warme...
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
I met #NoreenRiols, who has died aged 98, in 2011 after going to hear her talk about her work in the SOE (for which my late grandfather was also an agent). I was completely captivated by her and her eloquence. Fascinating obituary of her here: t.co/0NeKbPCQSw
t.co
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/noreen-riols-kjr38w3jc
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
What better to listen to in the morning than the latest research into the social competence of pigs? My paean to #FarmingToday in this week's Spectator plus Simon Armitage on the poetry of slugs with penis-like antennae on BBC Radio 4 www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-...
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Finally made it to #VanGogh #Poetsandlovers at the National Gallery (tickets are gold dust but obtainable like the Golden Fleece) and while I can't choose a favourite painting, I did admire these olive trees on a sunny January day. I suppose as a classicist I would.
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Burke Gerstenschlager @bleaktheology.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
My well-thumbed lexicon has saved my ass on many occasion. How can I not be excited to read this?
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Helen McVeigh @helenmcveigh.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Our December book club read is The Missing Thread by @daisydunn.bsky.social & we meet on Sunday 29th December at 7pm (GMT). For the Zoom link, join the mailing list here: subscribepage.com/classicsacademy The programme for January-April is here: helenmcveigh.co.uk/book-club #Ancientbluesky
Photo of The Missing Thread by Daisy Dunn on a bookshelf with a Christmas decoration posed alongside. The decoration is a dog in a Santa hat.
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
‘I am improving immensely in water transactions...& at cricket dare look at the ball without shutting mine eyes' – Henry Liddell, co-compiler of the Greek-English lexicon, was no sportsman, but boy did he live an interesting life. My review for @thetls.bsky.social www.the-tls.co.uk/regular-feat...
the-tls.co.uk
Alice's Father by John Witheridge | Book review | The TLS
To classicists, Henry Liddell’s name is synonymous with the Greek-English lexicon he compiled with Robert Scott, his colleague at Oxford. Between 1834 and
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Io, #Saturnalia! I'm off to indulge in some delicious feasting and a spot of festive gambling. Have a lovely Roman holiday everyone
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
Very nice to find #TheMissingThread in this ace selection of books of the year in @the-independent.com ! www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...
independent.co.uk
The 20 best books of the year, ranked
Our chief books critic Martin Chilton chooses his very best reads of the year, from state-of-the-nation novels to surprising memoirs
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
The questions you google about #Pompeii answered for @history-hit.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFA...
youtube.com
Historian Answers Google's Most Popular Questions About Pompeii
YouTube video by History Hit
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
'Certain publishers and booksellers...have shoals of telegrams from women before Christmas for new medical books to be sent to their doctors — for lack of any other ideas on the subject' - The Times, December 9, 1924 www.thetimes.com/comment/regi...
thetimes.com
Gift books for Christmas
Om this day 100 years ago
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
If anyone's looking for some historical non-fiction for Christmas, my women's history of the ancient world #TheMissingThread comes with a glamorous recommendation!
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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 06/12/2024
I heard you were saucy at my gates
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
In this week's @thetls.bsky.social I've reviewed a biography of one of the most notorious #womenoftheancientworld. Phryne could be quite funny. To a client who presented her with a diminutive flask of 10-year-old wine, she quipped, 'It's small, considering its age'! www.the-tls.co.uk/classics/gre...
the-tls.co.uk
Phryne of Thespiae by Laura McClure | Book review
Phryne achieved fame as a hetaera (“companion” or courtesan) in Athens in the fourth century BCE. She was rumoured to have inspired not only Praxiteles’ Knidian Aphrodite, a sculpture so sexy that a m...
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The TLS @thetls.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
James Baldwin at 100; the real Reagan; growing up in a commune; George Smiley returns; philosophy and mysticism; Sherlock Holmes in the pub – and much more
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Oh, look at Jess!
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
I'm currently obsessed with this 1st-century BC bronze bust, who is thought to be a Persian goddess, Anahita, in the guise of #Aphrodite. You have to imagine her with stone/glass eyes. I love the parting of her hair and how individual and unidealised she is #classicalart
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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
We are thrilled to announce that the early Crucifixion painting by Fra Angelico, recently acquired thanks to a successful fundraising campaign, is now on public display for all to enjoy. See the painting in the Early Italian Art gallery on Level 2.
A Renaissance panel painting on the wall of a gallery
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Please join me in supporting the educational charity Classics for All's #BigGive. A donation can help bring the wonders of classical education to schools across the UK. See more: bit.ly/CfABG24 #SupportEducation #ClassicsForAll #ChristmasChallenge #Classics #Christmasgiving
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James Barr @jamesbarr.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
If you want to know more about Syria’s recent history, you might like this:
Photograph of the jacket of A Line In The Sand by James Barr
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Fans of the 'I, Claudius' TV series, if you haven't yet caught #Emperor on Channel 5, you're in for a Livia-shaped treat....Airing Saturday nights and available on catch-up #ancientRome #Caesars
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Thank you very much! I'm very grateful.
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Unseen Histories @unseenhistories.com · 29/11/2024
From Paris to India, King Richard II to the Commonwealth of England, here are our favourite books of 2024 w/ @josephinequinn.bsky.social @claremulley.bsky.social @josephhone.bsky.social @daisydunn.bsky.social @willdalrymple.bsky.social @alicehunt.bsky.social www.unseenhistories.com/our-favourit...
Graphic shows eight book covers arranged in a rainbow configuration
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
This exquisite 9th-century BC chest was found in the grave of a wealthy woman in Athens. The objects on top are model granaries & may symbolise her role in agricultural business as well as her high property class. Seals were also interred with her and we know of female farm managers at this time.
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
History Day is returning to West Horsley Place in #Surrey next spring on Sat 15 March. Come and meet Kate Williams, Anne Sebba, Giles Milton & myself and explore the manor & gardens. You may recognise them from BBC's #Ghosts! Booking has just opened #history www.westhorsleyplace.org/Event/histor...
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Authors' Books of the Year. I chose a biography & a memoir... thespectator.com/book-and-art...
thespectator.com
The Spectator’s 2024 Books of the Year
I can’t think of any living novelist whose books I enjoy more than William Boyd, and his latest, Gabriel’s Moon (Grove Atlantic, $28)
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
I was on Woman's Hour on Friday discussing female gladiators and the lamentable lack of them in #GladiatorII. Tacitus says that women who fought in the arena 'disgraced themselves'. Which makes me want to sign up for 'Gladiators' right now! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Woman's Hour - Adoption, Female Gladiators, Novelist Pyae Moe Thet War - BBC Sounds
What does a new report say about contact between adopted children and their birth parents?
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Daisy Dunn @daisydunn.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
This morning I'm studying the Jockey of Artemision, an astonishing bronze which was made about 150 BC and went down in a shipwreck in Greece. Amazingly it was rediscovered only in the 1920s. It's now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens #ancientgreece
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