Spotlight On The St Andrews Early Modern Workshop

Blog is written by Baz Bowdler and Zack Brookman, co-conveners of The St Andrews Early Modern Workshop, a venue for postgraduate students to share their research on the early modern world. The Workshop meets on Mondays throughout the semester.

The St Andrews Early Modern Workshop (SAEMW) is a new forum for postgraduate students to meet up and hear about each other’s work in a relaxed and sociable environment. We invite postgraduate students at all levels, from any university and from any discipline who are working on any aspect of the early modern world, which we broadly define as 1400 to 1800. Our aim is to provide a forum for postgraduate students to gain experience in presenting on their work and to socialise with one another in a supportive and informal setting. 

Our workshop was launched in Autumn 2023 by Baz Bowdler and Zack Brookman, two first-year PhDs in the School of History who were keen to get other early modernists at similar stages in their academic careers talking to each other in the same room. Throughout our first semester in Autumn 2023, we welcomed thirteen different postgraduate presenters from nine universities across the globe. We are currently in the middle of our second semester, over the course of which we are looking forward to welcoming another fourteen speakers. The workshop has so far covered an extraordinary range of subjects: from slave-soldiers in the fifteenth-century Ottoman Empire to Dublin press coverage of the French Revolution, from the role and depiction of women in the early Mughal court to the printing of academic dissertations in seventeenth-century Finland.  

We meet fortnightly on a Monday evening in the Old Seminar Room of St John’s House on South Street. We typically hear from two speakers, each of whom speak for 15-20 minutes about something they are currently working on. Over some refreshments there’s an opportunity for speakers to get feedback on their work and attendees to make new connections and discuss their research and postgraduate life more broadly. We usually follow each session up with a trip to the pub, to continue the conversations we’ve started at the Workshop. The hybrid format of the workshop allows students from across the world to tune in and present on their work. 

We are currently in the midst of our second semester of sessions but are already looking forward to our third edition of the workshop, which will run in Autumn 2024. The best way to receive news about our upcoming sessions and future call for papers is by signing up to our mailing list by emailing Baz and Zack at standrewsearlymodernworkshop@gmail.com or by following us on Twitter/X @SAEarlyModern.  

Staff Spotlight: Dr Jessica Purdy

Blog written by Dr Jessica Purdy. Jess is an Associate Lecturer in Early Modern History. Her research focuses on the social history of early modern England, particularly as it concerns the history of libraries and of reading, education and identity. You can follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter) @jessicagpurdy.

I first fell in love with history, and the Tudors in particular, when I was eight years old. I was asked to do a project on Henry VIII in primary school, and I felt like the bee’s knees because my dad helped me to do it on Microsoft Word whilst most of my classmates’ projects were handwritten. Both of my parents continued to indulge my obsession with history – and still do to this day, no matter how much they grumble about me ‘already having enough books’. (Side note: is it even possible to have too many books?) As a teenager, I could often be found either with my nose buried in a book about the Tudors or watching the latest episode of some Tudor-based documentary with my dad. As an adult, not much has changed, except that I now spend a lot of time in castles and palaces as well (with occasionally animated discussions with the staff).

My love of history inspired me to pursue a degree in the subject, during which I spent time studying everything from the Norman Conquest to the Crusades to the Wars of the Roses and, of course, my beloved Tudors. After graduating with my undergraduate degree in 2014, I took a two-year hiatus from education before returning to pursue an MA in Library and Information Management, perhaps thinking I could pursue a career that would allow me to indulge in my other passion: reading! But a chance meeting with one of my former history lecturers led me to a PhD scholarship for a thesis on the history of parish libraries and reading practices in early modern England, which I completed in 2021.

My first lectureship was at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2021, and I joined the University of St Andrews in 2022, but I began teaching as a PhD student. It didn’t take me very long to realise how much I love it. For me, there’s nothing more exhilarating than a classroom of engaged and passionate students who are interested in discussing and debating all things early modern. I find my interactions with students really enriching and fulfilling, and I hope to be able to continue teaching for many years to come! When I’m not teaching on the Tudors or early modern social history, my research continues to focus on the history of libraries, books and reading. I’m currently thinking about the ways in which the books people read can help shape their identities and understand the world around them.

In my spare time, when I’m not reading or dragging people around castles, I enjoy a good hike around the Scottish countryside. I can’t lie: I’m something of a fair-weather hiker and I’ve yet to brave the Scottish elements on a hike. I much prefer to stay in and do some cross-stitch on a rainy day, with a nice cup of tea, a bit of chocolate and a good film!

Postgraduate Spotlight: Zachary Brookman

Zachary is a second-year History PhD candidate researching printing, bookselling, and library culture in the Swiss Confederacy on the eve of the Enlightenment. He can be contacted by email (zb28@st-andrews.ac.uk) and can also be found on Twitter (@ZBrookman).

When I was ten or eleven years old, as my parents love to remind me, I wanted to be a rabbi. As a youth I was an avid reader—I used to sit on the stoop and voraciously read the mail while my sister and the rest of the kids on our block played street hockey—and I was endlessly fascinated by the narratives of the Torah and the myriad of commentaries that attempted to legitimate and explain them. I think I also probably enjoyed the appeal of being an authority on something, a resource that others could call on for advice or guidance.

But then I had my first cheeseburger, and suddenly rabbinical studies were no longer an option. As I progressed through high school in my native Montreal, I thought I might scratch this existential itch with medical studies. Always the overachiever, I was chosen as one of only a handful of final-year students who would receive the opportunity to shadow doctors in a variety of specialisms at the Jewish General Hospital on a weekly basis ahead of the jump to post-secondary education. After a brush with a particularly dismissive dermatologist and two successive weeks in the colorectal surgery department, it became clear that medicine was not for me.

And so, I finally turned to my true calling, one that promised to provide me with all the exegetical intrigue of a rabbi and the problem-solving opportunities of a physician but with a fraction of the prestige, renown and salary offered by either position: the historian. I obtained my B.A. in History (Honours) with a minor in German at my hometown McGill University, during which time I had the opportunity to spend a semester abroad at University College London. I was much impressed by the comparatively smaller class size and seemingly higher attention to pastoral care, and vowed I would return to the UK as a postgraduate. True to my word, in 2021, with no Reformation course on offer that year, I was roped into an MLitt at this great University of St Andrews in the ‘History of the Book’. I have not looked back since.

I am now in the middle of the second year of my PhD, having traded the sixteenth century for the seventeenth, studying printing, bookselling, and library culture in the Swiss Confederacy on the eve of the Enlightenment under the supervision of Professor Andrew Pettegree and Dr. Arthur der Weduwen. The Swiss Confederacy was, in many ways, an anomaly of early modern European statecraft: A multilingual (German, French, Italian, Romansch, Latin) and bi-confessional (Catholic and Reformed Protestant) defensive alliance of administratively diverse cantons that existed over much of the area of modern-day Switzerland from the fourteenth century to 1798. The unique cultural and political makeup of the Swiss Confederacy, I would argue, had enormous consequences for the seventeenth-century Swiss book trade both at home and abroad, allowing it to reimagine and reorient itself away from traditional markets as the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) devastated most of Europe. By looking at the Swiss book trade as a whole and accounting for all languages spoken and printed in the Swiss lands, my project seeks to paint a more complete picture of the factors and figures that made the Swiss Confederation the centre of multilingual printing in Europe in the seventeenth century. I am supported in these efforts by the Universal Short Title Catalogue, for which I proudly work as a postgraduate team member, and the Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund.

When I’m not drowning in (digital) piles of bibliographic references or questioning the voracity of a Genevan false imprint, you can likely find me at one of Fife’s many fabulous farmers markets with my brilliant partner Maud and our dog Bug or somewhere soliloquizing about Everton F.C.’s most recent outing. Although I read considerably less than I did when I was a boy (at least for pleasure), I am an avid collector of seventeenth-century Helvetica and am known to enjoy the occasional record fair as well.

Postgraduate Spotlight: Basil Bowdler

Basil is a second-year Modern History PhD candidate investigating the Anglo-Dutch public sphere in the late seventeenth century. He can be contacted by email (bb219@st-andrews.ac.uk) and can also be found on Twitter (@BasilBowdler).

Born and raised in London, Basil’s love of history was first fed by the screen. Simon Schama and Elizabeth Taylor (i.e., Cleopatra) were early heroes of his. It took a little longer for Basil to appreciate historic buildings, though. Visiting the Vatican at age fourteen he flatly commented ‘I don’t believe in God, what am I doing here?’ Basil’s dad, a long-term employee at English Heritage, was speechless. Thankfully for his dad, Basil was lucky enough to be taught by three charismatic and passionate history teachers (Henley Henley-Smith, James Newton, and Benjamin Dabby), who helped him to focus his enthusiasm for history. After finishing school, Basil spent a year working in his local pub and travelled from St Petersburg to Shanghai by train. He firmly resists calling this a gap year.

When he went on to study history at Oxford, Basil was initially drawn to late-medieval Britain. His undergraduate dissertation explored the masculinity of Edward III and his court’s chivalric culture. A second-year lecture on mass communication in fourteenth-century England was a watershed moment which ignited Basil’s interest in public politics and political communication. Two factors were decisive in his pivot towards the seventeenth century. The first was a third-year paper on Britain during the turbulent years of the Commonwealth and Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate. The second was another film, The Draughtsman’s Contract. Having swallowed the Kool-Aid of all those wigs and flowery words, Basil went to Cambridge to study an MPhil in Early Modern History. There are many ways to look after yourself during a global pandemic. Spending nine months mostly in one room writing about patriotism and xenophobia during the reign of William III is not necessarily one of them.

After a year back in London, Basil began his PhD in St Andrews in autumn 2022. His thesis focuses on Anglo-Dutch diplomacy and public relations from 1685 to 1713. In the face of a Dutch invasion of Britain and a century of economic and political conflict between the two peoples, how did the English and the Dutch manage to fight together against France for twenty-five years? Basil is trying to answer this question by focusing on the activities of Anglo-Dutch diplomats. Rather than viewing diplomacy as an elite and rather secretive business, he is keen to emphasise the lengths that seventeenth-century diplomats went to in order to actively shape public opinion abroad.

Alongside his PhD, Basil is an associate of the Universal Short Title Catalogue and blog editor for the Northern Early Modern Network. He set up the St Andrews Early Modern Workshop this year, along with Zachary Brookman. At the end of the day, Basil goes back to St Salvator’s Hall, where he’s an Assistant Warden.

When he’s not struggling to translate Dutch pamphlets or shutting down parties at 3am, Basil likes to unwind with a book or by going for a run. He’s finally come round to visiting old buildings too and is enjoying exploring the history of Scotland through its castles and churches. He still enjoys going to the cinema, though there’s always the risk that a good historical epic will convince him to go off and study something apart from the seventeenth century.

School of History Soars to the Top of League Tables

In a remarkable achievement, the School of History has been named as the top history department in the country in both The Guardian University Guide 2024 and The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff and students throughout the last few years. Topping two major subject rankings reflects our unwavering commitment to providing a world-class environment for research and education. Our historians will continue to consistently push the boundaries of historical inquiry, producing pioneering research that contributes to our understanding of the past. At the same time, they will nurture the historians of tomorrow. 

Both rankings also place the University of St Andrews first in their respective university league tables. This marks the first time that any university outside of Oxford and Cambridge has topped two of the major higher education league tables in the same year. It is also the fourth time in the last three years that St Andrews has topped one of these major rankings.

Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Sally Mapstone commented, “To make history by coming top in both the Times and Guardian University Guides in the same season is a special way to start a new academic year in St Andrews. This achievement belongs completely to our fantastic staff and hard-working students. It reflects a deep institutional commitment to a critical balance of world-leading research and teaching, and the ways in which St Andrews students respond to that.”

Staff Spotlight: Dr Diana Lemberg

Blog written by Dr Diana Lemberg. Diana is a Lecturer in the History of the United States (post 1850) and specializes in twentieth-century U.S. international history, the history of information, and the history of ideas, broadly conceived.

One of the things I value most about the discipline of history is the analytical tools it gives us to question the certainties of power – today’s and yesterday’s. U.S. foreign relations in the decades after 1945 were shaped by elites convinced that American ways of doing things were going to change the world for the better: the ad executive-turned-diplomat persuaded that exporting more American culture would win the Cold War; the academic linguist who spent a good chunk of his career evangelizing about his method of teaching English to non-native speakers. The scholar Brian T. Edwards has referred to the “American century logic of broadcasting” to describe how these people tended to see the rest of the world: as someplace that received American ideas, culture, and expertise without necessarily having the power or legitimacy to reciprocate. This insight bridges my first book and my recent research. The book, Barriers Down: How American Power and Free-flow Policies Shaped Global Media (Columbia UP, 2019), examines the American pursuit of the “free flow of information” from the 1940s through the 1980s through the lens of U.S. cultural and economic expansionism; while my current project, “The Weapon of Words,” explores federal interventions in language training since World War II.

Lately I’ve also been thinking a lot about why the plans so often went awry. It’s wonderful to be in a place like St Andrews, where so many scholars incorporate social history into their work. They challenge me to think about how ordinary people have responded to elite designs for them, often in unexpected ways. Recently, I was reading over notes about an educational television experiment funded by the Ford Foundation in the late 1950s and early 1960s, a time when the foundation was pouring lots of money into television teaching at home and abroad. You have the teachers saying that the great thing about televised lessons is that, because they’re broadcast only once and can’t be played back on request, the kids have to pay attention. And at least one of the kids says the exact opposite, that with televised lessons it’s possible to pay no attention and retain nothing. None of this was exactly what the Ford Foundation was after, which was how to expand education systems rapidly without necessarily training lots of additional teachers. Incidentally, with all the legitimate concern today around chatbots, it’s worth remembering that ours is not the first moment when technology has proven divisive in conversations about education and work.

Being a historian has scrambled some of my own ideas about the future. As a kid growing up in suburban New Jersey, I never would have imagined that I’d spend so much time abroad. I was afraid of plane travel, didn’t much like school trips, and in my free time mostly just wanted to play basketball. But some mysterious alchemy of time and chance changed my path. I’ve spent most of the past eleven years working outside the United States—first in France, for research while I was a doctoral student at Yale University; then in Hong Kong, where I was most recently associate professor of history at Lingnan University; then in Budapest, through a yearlong fellowship at Central European University; and, since August 2022, in Scotland. Living in each of these places has challenged assumptions that I hadn’t even realized I held, from the mundane to the more serious: Is it better to drink water warm or cold? Why do protest movements succeed or fail? For a specialist in U.S. international history, it’s been an education. But I also think that we don’t always have to travel far from home to have our worldview shaken up by new ideas—studying history can do that, too.

Hot Girl Histories: Student Launches Women’s and Queer History Podcast

Blog is written by Claire Taylor, a final year English and Modern History undergraduate student. After being awarded the Laidlaw Research and Leadership Scholarship, she researched the role of women and questions of gender within the Esperanto movement in Britain. This transnational and gender history project uncovered a range of local women from Scotland engaging with Esperanto, including doctors, chemists, dressmakers, and journalists. She continues to work on the multidimensional experiences of Scottish women Esperantists and is a curator of Esperanto Wor(l)ds: Scotland, Postcards, and the Creation of an International Language on display at the Wardlaw Museum of the University of St Andrews until 29 May 2023. Read her work on Scottish women Esperantists here.

Started in February 2023, Hot Girl Histories explores women’s histories and queer histories normally not found in textbooks. Join Claire, an English and Modern History undergraduate student at the University of St Andrews and an aspiring academic girlboss, on her journey to bring life to the unspoken histories of girls, gays, and non-binary slays. A podcast made by and for the aforementioned parties. New episodes are uploaded every Mondayish.  

A recent episode features a discussion with Dr. Bernhard Struck and Dr. Guilherme Fians, both faculty from the School of History, on the Esperanto Wor(l)ds: Scotland, Postcards, and the Creation of an International Language exhibition. This exhibition zooms into the lives of several Scottish Esperanto speakers in the early twentieth century, particularly the lives of John Beveridge and his family. A Presbyterian clergyman, John Beveridge used Esperanto to exchange correspondence on topics ranging from Christianity and Scandinavian history to beekeeping. Following the traces of his postcards, this exhibition brings you to as many places as this language and these letters brought John Beveridge, and his daughters Lois and Heather Beveridge, at a time when international travel was still a luxury, the internet did not exist, and when having pen pals from abroad was an exciting adventure. As curators and historians, Bernhard, Guilherme, and Claire speak about where scholarship on Esperanto has been and is headed, how they decided to do this exhibition, how they executed it, and, eleven days into the exhibition being on display, how it has been received by the St Andrews community. 

Listen to the Esperanto Wor(l)ds episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/04uhSaVikJJmPRcezPx9bs?si=b3Q31odGS5m_q8kyOrptgA&nd=1 

Other episodes have covered such varied topics as A History of Lise Meitner (the first in a series of episodes on women in physics), Decolonizing Spaces of Knowledge, Gaslight, Gatekeep, Guerilla: The Story of Algerian Women’s Fight for Independence, and, An Alternative History of House Music. Some episodes to come include Second-Wave Feminism: Critiquing the Wave Metaphor + East & West German Eco-Feminism, Slay thy Manor House Down! Medieval Queers & Other Marginalized Groups, and, Neurosis, Humours, and Witches Oh My! A History of Female Hysteria.  

Hot Girl Histories currently has over 400 plays and 110 followers on Spotify. The most recent episode features Janey Jones, author of The Edinburgh Seven: a book detailing the experiences of Britain’s first female medical students who began studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869. A fascinating story about incredibly driven women, this history book highlights how men fear the ways in which confident, smart women can change patriarchal aspects of society. 

Follow the podcast on Spotify and Instagram, and read more about HGH here: https://beacons.ai/hotgirlhistories 

Email: hotgirlhistories@gmail.com to come on the podcast or with episode ideas! 

Staff Spotlight: Dr Sarah Leith

Blog written by Dr Sarah Leith. Sarah is an Associate Lecturer in the School of History, her work focuses on on environmental thought and spirituality in twentieth century Scotland. You can follow Sarah on twitter (@quarry_wood), or email hiscomms@st-andrews.ac.uk if you have a contribution to our alumni magazine.

There were two things which sparked my love of history at a young age: Blue Peter and my grandparents’ St Andrews ghost stories. Unfortunately, I never received a coveted Blue Peter badge, but I still very much love history and books, and I shall happily tell willing ears all about Archbishop Sharp’s phantom coach. Growing up in St Andrews, I was lucky to be surrounded by the remains of Scotland’s past, from the Cathedral to the Castle to the Swilcan Bridge. St Andrews has a rich heritage, and Mary Queen of Scots seems to have slept in an ever-increasing number of bedrooms in its historic centre. This includes a room next to my new office, but sadly I have no paranormal occurrences to report, as yet. Wait, what was that…

Both town and gown have inspired my history career. In 2010, I was given a red gown, ready to set off on the first of many pier walks. Following my graduation, I worked in the School of Modern Languages Office, and then as a museum assistant at the British Golf Museum. I knew I wanted to continue to combine town, gown and history, and, inspired by Professor Roger Mason, I began an MLitt in Scottish Historical Studies. Fast-forward six years, and pulling on a blue gown this time, I graduated with my PhD. (By the way, the University of St Andrews holds excellent graduation garden parties.)

My research considers twentieth-century Scotland, with my focus being on environmental thought and spirituality during this period. I am especially interested in nature writing, and my current research is about Dundee writer and hillwalker Sydney Scroggie, the author of The Cairngorms Scene and Unseen. An article I have written about Syd Scroggie’s writing and intellectual thought is being published by Northern Scotland. Feeling inspired, I am hoping that I shall soon be able to say that I have been up more than just the Lomond Hills! Within the School of History, I am an Associate Lecturer (Education Focused), as well as the Communications Director and the editor of our alumni magazine, The St Andrews Historian. If you would like to be included in our ‘Alumni News’ section, please do send me an email to the following address by the end of May 2023: hiscomms@st-andrews.ac.uk. I also run the social media pages and website of the Institute of Scottish Historical Research (ISHR), so please follow us @ISHRStAndrews!

When I am not writing, talking or tweeting about history and literature, I enjoy sport and keeping fit. My proudest sporting achievement remains being appointed my school’s Captain of Tennis, and I still enjoy playing tennis and golf in the warmer months. In the winter, though, I am usually found at the gym or in a swimming pool. I am yet to brave the North Sea, but I am increasingly tempted by the Castle Sands pool, and paddle-boarding looks like a lot of fun. My great-grandfather used to swim from the pier to the West Sands, covered head to toe in grease for much-needed insulation, and he was also a + 1 golfer. I think it is safe to say that I shall attempt neither of these physical feats. According to Old Tom Morris, the ‘Grand Old Man of Golf’, all St Andrews bairns are born excellent swimmers and golfers; well, I hope I never bump into the ghost of a very disappointed Old Tom along Pilmour Links.

Staff Spotlight: Joanna Hambly

Blog written by Joanna Hambly. Joanna is a Research Fellow in the School of History, her work focuses on the archaeological heritage of Scotland’s coast. You can check out some of Joanna’s work on the SCAPE website here

In January 2009, I joined the small group of researchers chaired by Professor Chris Smout collectively known as the SCAPE Trust, in a project development role. The contract was supposed to last eight months. Fourteen years and many projects later, I am still here. You may not even know there are archaeologists (and even a geologist) who work out of the basement of the School of History.

SCAPE carries out research on the archaeological heritage of Scotland’s coast. As part of our work, we document how coastal processes impact archaeological sites. We are revealing evidence from past environments and learning how climate change will impact Scotland’s coastal archaeological resource in the future. Our methods involve the communities where we are working. Including volunteers in coastal surveys and projects allows locally held knowledge to improve heritage records. Information about changes to the coasts experienced by the people living there is also of great value to us.

We are currently in the second year of a five-year project carrying out community coastal surveys, filling in some of the gaps along coastlines that have not yet had a systematic archaeological survey. We use predictive models to forecast how coastal processes and the impacts of climate change will affect coastlines to target our surveys (well our geologist Sarah does this part!). Despite the benefits of technology, there is no replacement for boots on the ground. That’s why Sarah and I walked a good deal of the coast from Inverness to Johnshaven between April and October last year in the company of a great many different and wonderful people.

Although our research focuses primarily on Scotland, people worldwide are very interested in our approach and are eager to hear about our work. This takes us to many interesting places and brings international colleagues to Scotland to experience our stunning coastal heritage and learn from community projects going on around the country.

In life before St Andrews, I worked as an archaeologist in the commercial sector in the UK and France, held a four-year post on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Abhayagiriya in Sri Lanka, and for ten years, managed community heritage services for the Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire. I have degrees in Archaeology and Quaternary Science.

This varied experience prepared me well to make the most of my hugely enjoyable and rewarding role within the School of History. Although a lot of the work is pure project management, there is always the opportunity, and indeed the necessity, to investigate and learn about an incredibly diverse range of subjects. One of these is Scotland’s earliest coastal manufacturing industry, salt making. My interest in this started many years ago when I directed the excavations of the sixteenth-century salt pans at Brora. I’m honoured to be editing a new book on the history and archaeology of the Scottish salt industry with Chris Whatley – which will be in the bookshops in September!

Outside of work, you can find me in the garden, on a walk (usually at the coast), or helping out at the Wemyss Caves (which you should visit if you haven’t already done so).

Staff Spotlight: Dr Bill Jenkins

Blog Written by Dr Bill Jenkins. Dr Jenkins is a Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century British History, his research focuses on the history of science in late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Scotland. You can check out Bill’s personal website here or follow him on twitter @BillHWJenkins

In 1986 I was a rather unenthusiastic 19-year-old zoology student at the University of Aberdeen. I always had a passionate interest in history but was advised by family and teachers to concentrate on science at school. I dropped the subject with much regret at an early stage of my secondary school career. But my love of history never waned and I spent much of my free time as a teenager with my nose in history books. During that year, I came across a reference in a zoology textbook to a work entitled Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation by Robert Chambers. This was a great evolutionary epic published in 1844, 15 years before Darwin’s Origin of Species. This brief, passing reference made me wonder whether there was more to the history of evolution than the triumphalist accounts of Charles Darwin’s life and discoveries fed to undergraduate biology students and found in many popular science books.

A few years later, in my early twenties, I found myself working in a bookshop in Glasgow. While life in many ways was good, it was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my days. Casting around for what to do next, it occurred to me that Chambers and his remarkable book would make a wonderful subject for a PhD. I approached Professor John Henry at the University of Edinburgh with my ideas, and to my delight, he agreed to supervise my project. Sadly for me, the stars failed to align and my funding applications were unsuccessful. So, a sadder but wiser man, I took a job as a desk editor with Longman’s higher education division in Harlow and set my sights on a career in publishing. At the same time, I still wanted to direct my passion for history towards some goal, so I studied for a degree at the Open University in my spare time.

Various editorial jobs subsequently took me to London, back to Glasgow, to Madrid, and then back to Glasgow again. Years and then decades went by, and I was now in my early forties. It seemed that there would never be a better time to make one final attempt to achieve my ambition to study for a doctorate in the history of science. I got in touch once again with John Henry at Edinburgh, who had been so enthusiastic about my ideas all those years ago. Fortunately for me, he was still there and still interested in my project and agreed to supervise it. To my joy, this time one of my funding applications came good and the rest, as they say, is history.

Here I am, more than a decade later, teaching 19th-century British history at the University of St Andrews, with a monograph on Evolution before Darwin and a dozen or so journal articles to my name. F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that ‘there are no second acts in American lives’. I think I can conclusively demonstrate that, with a bit of luck and perseverance, life can have as many acts as you want it to have.