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Dr Fern Riddell

@drfernriddell.bsky.social
14K followers 360 following 753 posts

Historian. Author. On your TV/Radio. **Victoria’s Secret: The Private Passion of a Queen OUT NOW** Expert: Suffragette Terrorism, Music Hall, 19thC Sex + Culture, Queen Victoria & John Brown. www.fernriddell.com lnk.to/victoriassecretbook

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Reposted by Dr Fern Riddell
Claire E. Aubin @ceaubin.com · 15/08/2026
They took a minor internal issue at a university and used it to bludgeon Black academics, increase the public profile of eugenicist weasels, and prove ‘correct’ their presupposition that diversity is dangerous. Now the man they accused of the public execution-worthy crime of plagiarizing is dead.
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Heather Wallace @burntcopper.eurosky.social · 30/07/2026
The esteemed gloriousness that is matthew sweet and @drfernriddell.bsky.social 's takedown of Naomi Wolf's terrible research on this topic is a great example of this. www.theguardian.com/books/2021/f...
theguardian.com
Naomi Wolf accused of confusing child abuse with gay persecution in Outrages
Author’s history of Victorian ‘criminalisation of love’ was heavily criticised on publication in 2019. Now its new, revised edition is also under fire
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Jamie Smart @jamiesmart.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
I know you know this on bluesky, but I posted it on insta so I thought I should post here too. And if it makes someone second guess using AI for these things then maybe it helps.
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Police launch murder investigation into death of Ann Widdecombe www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Police launch murder investigation into death of Ann Widdecombe
Death of 78-year-old former MP and TV personality was announced on Friday by her management
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 19/06/2026
Did Reform lose because they were too woke? A columnist earning 8 times your salary assumes the answer is yes, and investigates from there.
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Absolutely delighted to hear today that I've had a short paper accepted to 'Belonging to the Victorians' (@djrgrey.bsky.social) at Wilton's in September. It's my first proper return to academia in 10 years, + I'll be presenting my discovery (+ recovery) of the John Brown Family Archive. *squeak*
static.klipy.com
Great News: Excited Clapping & Yay!
ALT: Great News: Excited Clapping & Yay!
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This Guy Sucked @thisguysucked.com · 16/06/2026
Happy Pride we love u and we hate feudal lords
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Sarah Elizabeth Cox @oispooky.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Truly a monster programme. This month in 1897 at the Royal Aquarium, London... - French lady-wrestler (with a bear) - a living giantess (nearly 8ft high and only 17 years old) - singing cats - topsy-turvey dancers - feminine quick-change artist - and so forth
Clip from The Globe newspaper 5 June 1897

The Royal Aquarium will have on Monday the usual monster programme, beginning at 10 a.m., closing at 11.30 p.m., and including on this occasion the performances of French lady-wrestler (with a bear), a living giantess (nearly 8ft. high and only 17. years old), singing cats, topsy-turvy dancers, a feminine quick-change artist, conjurors, ventriloquists, gymnasts, acrobats, divers, bicyclists, and so forth.
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
But that is exactly how the suffragettes operated. With a nationwide organisation of sleeper cells of arsonists and bombers. I’m gratefully people have reached out and referenced my work today. I remain (I believe) the only academic expert on the terrorism of the suffragettes. Links below:
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@beatraxa @beatraxa.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
It’s frustrating and unsettling to turn on #R4Today to once again find them discussing the irrational talking points of the right and far right as if they were acceptable, desirable and practicable. Can’t we talk about reducing poverty and rebalancing economic inequality instead? Sometimes?
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The media & political classes (left + right) tend to guess wrong about the public - who have a *much* stronger common sense consensus on civic "inclusive nativism" than most of the commentariat seem to realise
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
A reminder of what Nigel Farage said following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.
We must not allow the tragic murder of a
young woman turn into attacks on men
and attacks on the police
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Andrew Longhofer @andrewlonghofer.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
I have seen AI described as a "technology founded on a lack of consent" and it has been echoing in my head since then
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
In the last 12 months I’ve seen AI biographies generated about me online that include completely made up quotes and sources. At festivals I’ve been introduced by lovely & well meaning hosts who have used Ai for bio information that is completely false. Ai threatens expertise across the board.
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ᚅᚓᚃ ᚆᚐᚔᚏᚇᚑ ᚃᚆᚑ ᚇᚔᚄ @ciara2001.eurosky.social · 29/05/2026
Hard to see any point to this other than pure cruelty? What problem is this solving? That you'll come across a trans person in a single occupancy loo?
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
c.org/MLdFSNsGZ9
c.org
Sign the Petition
Investigate Judge Nicholas Rowland and Introduce a Judicial Accountability Framework Now
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
The details of the Fordingbridge Rape case are so horrific and so shocking, that I cannot understand how the perpetrators have walked out of court with 11 rape convictions between them, yet no prison time.
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Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
There are powerful, well-connected, well-funded people in this country, today, who are deliberately, strategically, using the idea of a woman being made "uncomfortable" by the presence of a trans person to plot the removal of that woman's right to abortion, contraception, and divorce.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
There's some welcome bits and pieces in that EHRC guidance, particularly on clubs and associations being able to remain trans-inclusive, but in general it's a mess. Imagine having to make a major financial decision on the basis of the endless, hyper-anxious impenetrable drivel in that document.
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Jamie McKelvie @mckelvie.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Just over a decade ago, Tegan and Sara asked a few of their artist friends to each create a poster for one of the songs on their album Heartthrob. I chose Love The Say for mine, as it's one of my favourites.
A poster based on the song Love They Say by Tegan and Sara, drawn by me. Two young women fly hand in hand across a clear blue sky above a city skyline. The poster is largely coloured with teal and pale yellow, except for two large red hearts on the chests of the couple.
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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
What the guidance goes even further on is, if you suspect someone is trans, they have no way to disprove it. Even if you have a female passport, you aren't going in the women's gym if someone thinks you're clocky. This is a legal nightmare.
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
This is insane.
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Charlotte @charlottor.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Labour are disgusting. They have pandered to a tiny band of bigots in order to ruin the lives of trans women who pose no threat at all to any of us. This is targeted at trans women who will bear the brunt of it but you’re a fool if you don’t recognise that it harms us all.
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Fascinating to watch some of those who campaigned *so hard* against unisex toilets under the guise of ‘protecting women’ now celebrating the EHRC guidance which calls for… *squints* …what’s that? Oh yes, unisex toilets. To protect women.
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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Psa: the only acceptable response to this by organisations, companies and institutions is to remove all single sex spaces. Anything else is complicity with fascist bigotry.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Actually, SHAPE subjects cross-subsidise STEM subjects in most comprehensive UK universities annually through differential central charge or 'contribution' models. It's another reason we're all in the current HE crisis together, whether our own particular discipline is 'at risk' at present or not.
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
So so confused at the choice for All American Accents in Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey. Feels bizarre to listen to Tom Holland and Robert Pattison in Ancient Greece speaking generic New Ywak (or is it Boston/Chicago??) gangster. youtu.be/jWwvbwm6VUM?...
youtu.be
The Odyssey Trailer #2 (2026)
YouTube video by Rotten Tomatoes Trailers
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Dan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
If you read the judgement, it's an extraordinary "can't anyone here play this game?" tale of basic regulatory mistakes, including not knowing your legal powers, not setting up independent committees, not engaging in good faith dialogue... www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Sussex University overturns £585,000 fine as high court rejects free speech breach claim
Ruling is blow to Office for Students after it issued record fine for allegations over professor’s trans rights views
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Rebecca Rideal @rebeccarideal.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
The Rendlesham Forest mystery: ‘It’s the perfect storm of a UFO case’ www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
The Rendlesham Forest mystery: ‘It’s the perfect storm of a UFO case’
In 1980, two US airmen reported an extraordinary encounter near a military base in the east of England. What really happened?
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Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Fern’s book is really good — she’s both a great historian and an empathetic storyteller 👇
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Girl on the Net @girlonthenet.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
All writing is terrible to someone. Write for yourself and the people who like what you do.
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♈️ Jason Behan ♉️ @jasonbehan.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
“…I am fearless and therefore powerful.” 🖤
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Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
The new children’s book by @drfernriddell.bsky.social is VERY PRETTY!! A lovely compendium of women from global history who ruled, rebelled, and rampaged
I Am A Royal Rulebreaker: Women Who Shaped History by Fern Riddell has a vibrant and beautiful cover in pink and yellow palette, with multicoloured illustrations of famous historical women on the cover
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Helen O'Hara @helenlohara.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
JD Vance, the man who dares ask, "IS the Pope Catholic really?"
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
So… I have some news…
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danpolski.bsky.social @danpolski.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
This is from a bbc docudrama and that is Rebecca Front and Chris Langham, so it is not in fact "George Orwell's last interview". It's a speech garnered from his works, not a direct quote and this scene is often shared without context, misleading people into thinking it's archive footage.
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Election Maps UK @electionmaps.uk · 10/04/2026
Cliftonville (Kent) Council By-Election Result: 🌍 GRN: 38.8% (+26.7) ➡️ RFM: 33.1% (-7.0) 🌳 CON: 15.2% (-4.5) 🌹 LAB: 10.4% (-11.6) 🙋 Ind: 1.3% (New) 🔶 LDM: 1.2% (-1.9) No Ind (-3.0) as previous. Green GAIN from Reform UK. Changes w/ 2025.
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Has anyone asked Joanna how she feels about The Casual Vacancy being banned in the Manchester Anti Trans/Anti Women/Anti Diversity Book Ban Scandal? Full list of banned books at the end of this article: www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/scho...
indexoncensorship.org
School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books - Index on Censorship
A school librarian faced a disciplinary hearing and scores of books were removed from her school library after she stocked Laura Bates’ Men Who Hate Women
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Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
A very good thread about journalists and AI, much of which also applies to writers of nonfiction books. We are being told, with increasing frequency and stridency, that we "just don't get" how AI can help us, by people who are manifestly not interested in helping us. Know your enemy. Hold the line.
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Niko Stratis @nikostratis.com · 02/04/2026
When people found out about Shy Girl, an emerging career was over in a heartbeat. This motherfucker has had: a generative story published in Wired, the first AI novel reviewed in the New York Times, and an art exhibit in a gallery using generative text to create prayers. He also still has a career.
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kay taylor rea @kaytaylorrea.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
At this point, the repeated failure by Harlequin to invest in or at least cash in on the success of Heated Rivalry can’t be anything other than homophobia in the c-suite, right? Like, failing to do new print runs, no tie-in cover?? They could be printing money right now, but 👬 is a big no I guess!
media.tenor.com
a man is reading a book called heated rivalry
ALT: a man is reading a book called heated rivalry
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Very proud of this book, published by the brilliant DK
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Yep. In fact, the real failing of students was when we stopped requiring them to regularly search a library catalogue for their reading and instead produced lists with hyperlinks that students simply had to click. As soon as they have to go off list, they’re lost.
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Ed Newton-Rex @ednewtonrex.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Fantastic news in the UK today - the government has apparently ditched its plan to force creatives to 'opt out' if they don't want AI companies training on their life's work. www.thetimes.com/uk/technolog... 🧵 1/4
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Dr Fern Riddell @drfernriddell.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
The paperback for Victoria’s Secret - revealing my 4 year investigation into Queen Victoria’s passionate love affair with John Brown and a hidden family archive kept secret for 150+ years - is just 99 p on kindle for the WHOLE of March lnk.to/victoriassecretbook
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Am teaching a course on Pain & the humanities this yr, and I can't stop thinking about this 1950 experiment conducted in New York hospitals and Cornell University hospital, where physicians burned the hands of women in labor (IN LABOR) to create a measure for pain/study pain thresholds. #histmed
A black and white photo of a woman's hand showing the back side of her hand, she wears nail polish and her nails are cut short. And on the back of her palm are four blisters caused by burning with a dolorimeterMar., 1951
INFLUENCE OF ANALGESICS ON PAIN INTENSITY
DURING LABOR
(WITH A NOTE ON "NATURAL CHILDBIRTH") *
CARL T. JAVERT, M.D., AND JAMES D. HARDY, PE.D.
New York, New York
Received for publication August 9, 1950
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Sathnam Sanghera @sathnam.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
One of the things that made George Michael unusual as a popstar was his activism. Whether it was speaking out about apartheid, AIDS, or the Iraq War. My new book, Tonight the Music Seems So Loud: the Meaning of George Michael is published soon. sathnam.com #GeorgeMichael #Wham #TTMSSL #Iraq
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Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
New in paperback! My brilliant friend @drfernriddell.bsky.social spent 4 years researching this extraordinary new biography of Queen Victoria’s love life, finding brand-new and explosive evidence of her relationship with John Brown, and I think you should read it 😁 www.penguin.co.uk/books/453641...
penguin.co.uk
Victoria's Secret
'Weep with me for we all have lost the best, the truest heart that ever beat!' From the moment John Brown arrived as a servant to Queen Victoria's household, he became known across the land as her lo...
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Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
I'm one of many professors quoted in this report from Alice Speri. I really appreciate The Guardian taking an angle which has basically eluded every other major outlet.
theguardian.com
‘I wish I could push ChatGPT off a cliff’: professors scramble to save critical thinking in an age of AI
As AI has upended the way students learn, academics worry about the future of the humanities - and society at large
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