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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland
@charlieholland.bsky.social
560 followers 320 following 400 posts
19th century Circus and Music Hall history (esp. acro, aerial & juggling) & Contemporary Circus. Co-organiser of European Circus History Conference (circusconference.org), British Music Hall Society Conference.
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
oispooky.bsky.social
Sarah Elizabeth Cox @oispooky.bsky.social · 2d
I'm writing this book partly, mostly, for readers who aren't already into boxing 🥊

The Devil's Dance Floor is about pugilists, pressmen, policemen, and Alf Ball's pet puma. Murder, madness, Jem Smith's tight tights. We got wives. Bald bears. A Victorian epidemic of discarded orange peel! Smallpox!
oispooky.bsky.social
Sarah Elizabeth Cox @oispooky.bsky.social · 2d
Seconds out! Round one!

THE DEVIL'S DANCE FLOOR

This isn't an official announcement from Duckworth. It's a page from my agent's newsletter and book fair rights catalogue, which is public. So, a tiny-text soft launch? Details subject to change.

A lot of thank yous and less Disney, to come.

🐻🥊👊🏾👊🏻🦁🍺
Page from literary agency Curious Minds rights guide for Frankfurt Book Fair etc. Alongside a photo of me looking slightly drunk and a lot hostile, it says, in tiny font: NEW DEALS AGENT - Eli Keren PUBLISHER - Duckworth PUBLICATION - Spring 2027 STATUS - Manuscript due April 2026 LENGTH - 80,000 words RIGHTS SOLD World English (Duckworth) The Devil’s Dance Floor Late-Victorian London and the Last Bareknuckle Boys SARAH ELIZABETH COX An 1880s’ group biography of the last of Britain’s bareknuckle boxers from the historical consultant behind A Thousand Blows (Disney+/Hulu) THE DEVIL’S DANCE FLOOR is the first popular book from Sarah Elizabeth Cox, the historical consultant behind Steven Knight’s television series A Thousand Blows and author of the historical blog ‘Grappling with History’. A group biography of Victorian boxers, THE DEVIL’S DANCE FLOOR is a cultural history that does far more than recount the true story behind the fictionalized version now streaming. Taking a narrative approach, Cox charts the decline of bareknuckle boxing over the 1880s, and, in doing so, explores subjects ranging from policing and healthcare to the press and entertainment – all while offering a personal-scale view of the melting point of Victorian London (think Hallie Rubenhold’s The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper but with a lot more getting punched in the face). The subjects themselves hail from as far afield as London’s East End and the North to the United States and the Caribbean. Each has a unique story to tell and reveals something not only about our shared history but also about the world we live in today. Sarah Elizabeth Cox was a historical consultant on season one and two of Steven Knight's 1880s’ boxing and crime TV drama A Thousand Blows. She researches biographies of Victorian and Edwardian boxers and wrestlers for her website ‘Grappling with History’ and works as the British Science Association’… 1888 portrait of boxer Hezekiah Moscow, a slim Black or Black/East Asian mixed heritage man, taken by Harry Carpenter. He is shirtless, fists raised, wearing white tights and a chequered sash at the waist. There are painted palms on the studio backdrop.
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
zackpolanski.bsky.social
Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 3d
I'm Jewish. I'm also Mancunian.

Every other national party leader was interviewed by Laura Kunesberg during their conference.

Maybe the BBC thought as someone who also supports Palestine - I had nothing to say?

Let's keep growing: join.greenparty.org.uk
Zack on Bold Politics podium
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 3d
The Hay Wain, rural Brixton, October 2025.
Bales of hay on a bicycle trailer parked at Loughborough Junction.
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 3d
One of those stories that lifts the day.
folklorewales.com
Dr Delyth Badder @folklorewales.com · 4d
Six weeks ago, I picked up a year-old tawny owl with a broken leg off the main road near our home and dropped him off at our nearest vet.

After a few days, I received one of the most bizarre phone calls I’ve ever had, asking “So when are you coming to pick up your owl?” 🧵
Tawny owl
charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 3d
Congratulations on coming of age!
Birthday.you
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 3d
Heads up! The next edition of the biennial European Circus History Conference will take place in Denmark at the wonderful Copenhagen Circus Museum from Thursday 15th to Saturday 17th April 2027. Read more at circusconference.org
European Circus History Conference
Copenhagen, Thu 15 - Sat 17 April 2027
circusconference.org
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
dianawalkden.bsky.social
Diana Walkden @dianawalkden.bsky.social · 4d
EUROPEAN ROUTE OF HISTORIC THEATRES - Sat 25 Oct 2025 2pm - FREE at V&A Lydia&ManfredGorvey LectureTheatreSW7 2RL
Mark Fox explains the Route’s genesis (120 theatres across 30 countries) current status and future plans.
Book in advance www.ticketsource.co.uk (search Frank Matcham Society)
www.ticketsource.co.uk
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
artinsociety.bsky.social
Journal of Art in Society @artinsociety.bsky.social · 5d
Famed architect Palladio’s last commission was the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. The stage set for its first performance in 1585 was a masterpiece of illusion which convincingly depicted roads disappearing into the distance. Incredibly it’s still there to this day. Tks @JonathanMendel1
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
musichallsociety.bsky.social
British Music Hall Society @musichallsociety.bsky.social · 6d
We will be unveiling a #BluePlaque for #MusicHall and #Variety star Max Miller on Thursday 16th October at 2pm in Burlington Street, Brighton. All welcome!
#BrightonEvents
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
thelondonarchives.bsky.social
The London Archives @thelondonarchives.bsky.social · 6d
Before cinema, there was Music Hall! 🎭

From pub backrooms to grand palaces of entertainment, it was the heart of London's cultural life.

Uncover treasures from the golden age in our new free display, 'Spotlight on Music Hall'. Opens Oct 6!
www.thelondonarchives.org/visit-us/exh...
#Archives
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 7d
Put an open top bin in front of the ‘table’.
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 7d
The link given on that page to the JD & PS is not working currently.
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
musichallsociety.bsky.social
British Music Hall Society @musichallsociety.bsky.social · 8d
Interested in entertainment past and present? Join the BMHS!
Sign up from 1 Oct and get 16 months for the price of 12 🎭
Membership runs until 31 Jan 2027.
➡️ Join here: britishmusichallsociety.com/join-us
Join Us | British Music Hall Society
If you are interested in entertainment past and present, why not join our Society?
britishmusichallsociety.com
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 8d
Bit too common though?
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 8d
In this Instagram/TikTok age, I imagine that a full scale, working replica of Church’s Stagecoach (about 1830) with a modern engine etc. might pay its way. Model in Turin’s automobile museum.
LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM Steam Coach 28 inside & 22 outside seats.
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 8d
Shopping for a new car whilst in Turin. Has to be red, obviously, but I’m struggling to decide which to pick, the Cisitalia 202, Alfa Romeo Disco Volante or Maserati Osca?
Side profile of the Cisitalia 202 Disco Volante from the front. Maserati Osca with its sawn off rear.
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 8d
Is there another list of countries that didn’t introduce blasphemy laws so have none to repeal, please?
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
drhannahlscott.bsky.social
Hannah Scott @drhannahlscott.bsky.social · 8d
Six days, five libraries, 92 documents…

Some of my favourite things to have stumbled on in the Paris archives this week:

Saucy goings-on at the Moulin-Rouge - radiology and ultrasound live show, come see your heart beating, stomach working, and bones moving about in their joints!
Moulin-Rouge flier reading: Tous les soirs au bal du Moulin-Rouge: les dernieres decouvertes du siecle: Radiologie, Haute Frequence pour la premiere fois en public, demonstrations scientifiques de la production et de l'utilisation des Rayons X et des Courants de Haute frequence. Chacun peut voir le coeur battre, l'estomac fonctionner, les os jouer dans les articulations. 50 centimes
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 9d
Which novel, please?
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
oispooky.bsky.social
Sarah Elizabeth Cox @oispooky.bsky.social · 9d
EVERY single one of the 10 GPs at my local surgery is from overseas. They are Indian, Russian, Nigerian and Italian.

IN CLACTON.

1) Aren't they serving the community enough?
2) Do Nigel's fans realise what would happen if they all left?
3) When do they have time to do the volunteering bit?
athenakugblenu.bsky.social
Athena Kugblenu @athenakugblenu.bsky.social · 10d
imagine being a consultant doctor here and having to go out litter picking to be given your citizenship lol

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Shabana Mahmood to demand migrants earn right to settled status
New tests will include learning English to a high standard, paying National Insurance and not claiming benefits.
www.bbc.co.uk
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 10d
And a couple of days in Venice tacked on 😁
A palazzo viewed across the Grand Canal, with obligatory gondola and blue and white curly cane posts, from the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. The Ponte di Rialto at night with the sparkling canal in the foreground. St Mark’s Square from the Basilica balcony accessible if buying the Basilica museum ticket. One of the “Moors” striking the bell on the Torre dell’Orologio with the Campanile in the background.
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 10d
It’s a comparatively recent festival, fifth edition, in the hinterlands. First time I have been and it is better than I anticipated.
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 11d
Enjoying the Salieri Circus Festival in Legnago, near Verona. www.saliericircus.it
The floodlit exterior of the Salieri Theatre with a band in front. An ornate circus wagon of the Togni family. The curtain call for the Axur show, one of two shows from which finalists will be chosen for the gala show. The interior of the Salieri Theatre.
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Reposted by Charlie Holland
ianvisits.co.uk
ianVisits @ianvisits.co.uk · 12d
A rare display of Walter Sickert’s prints and sketches as private collection goes on show

www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/a-r...
A rare display of Walter Sickert's prints and sketches as private collection goes on show
A rarely seen private collection of paintings, drawings and prints by Walter Sickert (1860–1942) has gone on display in London.
www.ianvisits.co.uk
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charlieholland.bsky.social
Charlie Holland @charlieholland.bsky.social · 12d
Venice, city of lovers.
A woman in a short red dress hugs her boyfriend in t-shirt and jeans as they gaze from the canal side up at the Ponte di Rialto. A couple look out to the sea from the Basilica of St Mark’s. A couple embrace on a bridge over a canal in Venice. A portrait of Henriette Negrin by her husband, Mariano Fortuny, in the Museo di Palazzo Fortuny.