The face on the homepage of Heritage Open Days (England’s biggest history & culture festival) looks familiar 👀
My pre-event to mark the coming centenary of Princess Irene Duleep Singh’s tragic death by suicide in 1926.
Grateful to all involved — and to @samaritans.bsky.social for their support 💜
Free Heritage Open Days Festival begins on Friday.
Heritage Open Days events are now on Visit Lichfield.
@lichfieldlive.bsky.social
‘A Forgotten Princess: Irene Duleep Singh and the Evolution of Mental Health and Law’ coincides with World Suicide Prevention Day (10 Sept). visitlichfield.co.uk/listing/a-fo...
@samaritans.bsky.social Call 116 123
September is World Suicide Prevention Day month 💜
For Heritage Open Days I’ll be remembering a forgotten princess — Irene Duleep Singh — and how her life & death show the evolution of mental health & law over the last century.
If you’re struggling, call Samaritans 116 123
@samaritans.bsky.social
@anitaanand.bsky.social I should add — Heritage Open Days (backed by the National Trust) have spotlighted this event on Princess Irene Duleep Singh and the evolution of mental health & law. Timed to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day.
💐
www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-e...
2 pages in @anitaanand.bsky.social’s book on Princess Sophia Duleep Singh stood out — about the last princess, Irene. Her struggles with mental health and tragic suicide led me to research further.
She’s now the focus of my FREE Heritage Open Days event.
www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-e...
For anyone who wants to see more research on the English countryside’s relationship with colonialism, there’s this on Capability Brown’s landscape gardens: alanlester.co.uk/blog/capabil...
Saw ‘Marriage Material’ at the Birmingham Rep—an absolutely fantastic adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s book. Funny, moving, and brilliantly performed. On until tomorrow (5th July). If you’re near Birmingham, don’t miss it!
#MarriageMaterial #BirminghamRep #Theatre #WhatsOnBrum
@sathnam.bsky.social
Wishing all my American family and friends a Happy July 4th Independence Day! 🇺🇸
Music of the day: Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA! 🇺🇸🌴☀️
#July4th #IndependenceDay #USA #SurfinUSA #SummerVibes #RedWhiteAndBlue #StarsAndStripes #FourthOfJuly #HappyFourth #JulyFourth #Freedom #American #America #LandOfTheFree
I recommend #BritishMuseum trustee Tiffany Jenkins’ new book—in context with her earlier works.
What if our digital present is the ‘Curse of Minerva’ Byron warned of in 1811, after #Elgin took Athena’s marbles? Byron’s daughter, Ada Lovelace, was mother of the digital age…
Was the #Curse prophecy?
https://www.theequianoproject.com/events-list/reckoning-with-history-a-critical-discussion-on-the-reparations-debate
https://www.theequianoproject.com/events-list/reckoning-with-history-a-critical-discussion-on-the-reparations-debate
https://www.theequianoproject.com/events-list/reckoning-with-history-a-critical-discussion-on-the-reparations-debate
https://www.theequianoproject.com/events-list/reckoning-with-history-a-critical-discussion-on-the-reparations-debate
@alanlester.bsky.social
Looks like I’ve found a summary of the debate online.
Her new book subtly—and perhaps unintentionally—shows how these debates are shifting: from questions of ownership and reparations to questions about the logic of authority, privacy, exposure & dignity when the tables turn…
How did the debate go?
She seems personable, but it’s the book that counts.
I’d recommend reading her new book on privacy with her earlier work. It shows the double standards—and the paradox between privacy & exposure. Debates about restitution, reparations, and digital exploitation are converging…
https://www.theequianoproject.com/events-list/reckoning-with-history-a-critical-discussion-on-the-reparations-debate
https://www.theequianoproject.com/events-list/reckoning-with-history-a-critical-discussion-on-the-reparations-debate
https://www.theequianoproject.com/events-list/reckoning-with-history-a-critical-discussion-on-the-reparations-debate
https://www.theequianoproject.com/events-list/reckoning-with-history-a-critical-discussion-on-the-reparations-debate
@alanlester.bsky.social
Looks like I’ve found a summary of the debate online.
Her new book subtly—and perhaps unintentionally—shows how these debates are shifting: from questions of ownership and reparations to questions about the logic of authority, privacy, exposure & dignity when the tables turn…
@alanlester.bsky.social
How did the debate go?
She seems personable, but it’s the book that counts.
I’d recommend reading her new book on privacy with her earlier work. It shows the paradox between privacy & exposure. Debates about restitution, reparations, and digital exploitation are converging…
How did the debate go?
She seems personable, but it’s the book that counts.
I’d recommend reading her new book on privacy with her earlier work. It shows the double standards—and the paradox between privacy & exposure. Debates about restitution, reparations, and digital exploitation are converging…
@alanlester.bsky.social
Did you ever review ‘Keeping Their Marbles’?
Good PR.
But that book showed a callousness about exposing others’ private histories.
Now there’s a new book defending privacy—yet it barely sees how museums helped create the privacy problem.
Curious to know what you think?
☀️
Dear Publishers,
When you publish books about privacy—something sacred & sentimental—do you choose authors who grasp that forcing others’ private histories into exposure for “universal good” has consequences?
See my #Amazon review of ‘Strangers and Intimates: The Rise and Fall of Private Life’.
☀️
🌻It’s live!🌻
My Heritage Open Days event is listed for Sept 2025.
Today marks 186 years since Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death.
This Sept, I’ll share his granddaughter Princess Irene Duleep Singh’s story—her life, mental health, & the legacy of a forgotten royal line.
#HeritageOpenDays #MentalHealth
New on Substack: Part 3 of The Curse of Minerva
Parts 1 & 2 gave the background and a GCSE-level (ages 14-16) intro to Byron’s prophetic poem — especially relevant to today’s Parthenon Marbles debate.
Now we dive deeper.
#Substack #Byron #ParthenonMarbles
open.substack.com/pub/sundeepb...
My Substack debut is turning into a series! Here’s the 2nd post in my study pack for ‘The Curse of Minerva’ by Lord Byron.
This one’s geared toward GCSE & US high school students (ages 14–16), helping make Byron more accessible for classrooms & curious minds alike.
open.substack.com/pub/sundeepb...
I’ve just joined the Substack community — and here’s my very first post!
Let me know if you’re on there & I’ll follow back!
#Substack #WritingCommunity #MythologyMatters #WritersOfBluesky #NewsletterLaunch #NewOnSubstack #ContentCreator
#ReadThis #Legend #Heritage
open.substack.com/pub/sundeepb...
@garethknapman.bsky.social Good PR doesn’t make Keeping Their Marbles any less callous.
Byron warned us about Hireling Artists in The Curse of Minerva - defenders of theft who serve power, not the full truth.
If Jenkins calls scholars “activists” she can’t object to being called a Hireling Artist.
Heard of a ‘Hireling Artist’?
Byron coined the term in 1811 — for those who defend imperial theft with big words, small morals & flattery.
His poem The Curse of Minerva, about Elgin & the Parthenon marbles, has proved eerily prophetic.
#HirelingArtist #ParthenonMarbles #MuseumEthics #ByronWasRight
Imagine writing ‘Keeping Their Marbles’, treating the goddess Athena they belong to as “left field”, becoming a British Museum trustee — then hitting block on a cheeky satirical reel like this.
If we can’t laugh a little while talking about the Parthenon marbles story, what are we even doing?
🤷♀️📚⚡🏛️
I’m on Instagram more these days— same handle: @SundeepBraich.
I wanted to share a reel about my visit to the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace for an exclusive community group event.
And of course, I spotted the Koh-I-Noor diamond 💎 in a painting, which helps contextualise our shared history.
What can modern audiences learn from ancient stories?
Find out at my next talk about Leto, inspired by the prefix at the Roman site Letocetum…
12th June,10am, online talk for the English Heritage cohort only
16th June,7pm, in-person talk for a public audience at the Erasmus Darwin House Lichfield
Meet Bridgette and Paula Powers, identical twins who speak in synch and dedicate themselves to animal conservation.
I’m preparing to send out my book proposal. While memoirs can be challenging to market, this one stands apart as it delves into a hidden history linked to the renowned Koh-I-Noor 💎 diamond.
If this piques your interest and you’re a literary agent, I’d love to hear from you!
🙏☀️
#literaryagents #MSWL
@alanlester.bsky.social
@corinnefowler.bsky.social
I’m not sure if you and your colleagues are aware, but Nigel Biggar (or should I refer to him as Lord Biggar now that he’s joined the House of Lords?) has a new book titled ‘Reparations: The Tyranny of Imaginary Guilt’ set to be released this year.
Sundeep Braich (aka me) on P.66 of English Heritage’s Spring 2025 magazine!
Turns out I have friends who are English Heritage members and who also read the seasonal members' magazine. They spotted me and kindly reached out to let me know!
Are you an English Heritage member?
#EnglishHeritage
