I thought I’d finished with it for now; but I’m still having to work on ‘the book’, to get it ready for printing. Bloomsbury want a list of ‘high-profile’ historians they can send the proofs to in order to elicit ‘puffs’ for the jacket. They want ‘an equal mix of men and women’. (Very feminist, my publishers.) My trouble is that I don’t know – or even know of – many women who might be interested in reading it. I’ve been walking around the house shouting ‘I need women!’ Luckily Kajsa knows what I mean. I’ve suggested Mary Beard (wrong period), Linda Colley, and Joanna Bourke among historians – I know them a bit; dear Miriam Margolyes (an old acquaintance who has written a book about Dickens); and Hilary Mantel (who has written against Brexit), Polly Toynbee, Naomi Klein and Nicola Sturgeon for ‘high-profile’ women non-historians whom I don’t know personally. Any other suggestions? (Women only. I’ve got quite enough men.)

I’m thinking of suggesting they send it to Jacob Rees-Mogg, who fancies himself as a historian. (Vide his The Victorians: ‘reads as if written by a baboon’ – that’s the Telegraph review of it.) If he could be persuaded to write something nasty about my book, it might boost its sales.

Back to serious blogging soon. There’s certainly plenty happening currently to blog about!