Hotel Lux: An Intimate History of Communism’s Forgotten Radicals by Maurice J. Casey was published by @wearefootnote.bsky.social and The Celtic World: a history by John Waddell was published by Four Courts Press.

Here I am on the banks of Lake Geneva, where I’ve traced a family with a fascinating story of anti-Nazi resistance. I also discovered an unlikely thread linking Hotel Lux to my new project. Some deep cut trivia for any Lux heads out there.

If Lenin and Martov had the chance to chat things out while sharing one of these I guarantee you history would look much different

Last night I had gelato so authentic that an Italian customer openly mocked my pronunciation of Stracciatella

I’m in Geneva for research. Beautiful city. The address that housed the printing press of the Bolsheviks in Exile now does an excellent almond croissant. Layers of history, layers of pastry.

For my Comintern history module next semester each student will be assigned an activist whose career they follow throughout the course. To liven up tutorials I've decided the Comintern activists will exist as trading cards.

My latest article — kindly shared and described here by Tom — exams a hitherto obscure bridging figure between the early 20th century Sapphic world and post 1968 queer activism in Ireland