In a few hours I’ll be reading live from the Overture of my next book in a virtual talk at U Edinburgh’s History & Games Lab.
This is the first time any part of the book has been read in public, or by anyone outside of my circles of trusted first readers (& MIT’s peer reviewers)
12.03.2026 14:09
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Goethe the radical reactionary | The Observer
Matthew Bell’s Goethe: A Life in Ideas reveals a restlessly inventive thinker who admired autocrats and shunned Christianity
💡 'Bell does a very successful job of bringing us back to the themes that connect the wildly diverse ensemble of Goethe’s writings.'
Rowan Williams reviews Goethe: A Life In Ideas by Professor @matthewgbell.bsky.social from @kingsdllc.bsky.social for @theobserveruk.bsky.social ⬇️
buff.ly/XJfj8Zc
04.03.2026 13:25
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I'm really grateful to all our contributors for their reflections on the eighteenth century in recent popular culture. Chapters on The Great, Bridgerton, and much more. Also interviews with figures from the creative and heritage industries. I'm really proud of it.
12.03.2026 12:15
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So there have been a few fun milestones and projects coming to completion over the last year that I hadn't properly publicised due to social media disillusionment. I'll try to do them justice here over the next week or so.
12.03.2026 12:15
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Really pleased that my third-year course, Inventing Celebrity, has received a BSECS teaching prize. It's a joy to teach. Just marking the mid-semester assignments now, and dare I say it, even that's a pleasure!
10.03.2026 14:17
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Finally joined bluesky after a few years of increasing scepticism about social media. Will try to keep this a space for thoughtful and fun conversation!
10.03.2026 14:11
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Many thanks to BSECS - lovely to have my teaching recognised. And it turns out this was the push that I needed to join bsky!
10.03.2026 14:06
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