Helen Lewis

1 week ago | sarahwilson.substack.com | Sarah Wilson |Helen Lewis

She’s back!!! , the woman who Jordan Peterson said (all sookily) “hated me on first sight”, has written a new book about geniuses … and how the mythology around the concept has warped our understanding of creativity and value. In this chat we cover how it feeds into the exoneration of the tech bros. Thank you , , , , , and many others for tuning into our live video. Per the blurb on the book:“You can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius.

2 weeks ago | helenlewis.substack.com | Helen Lewis |Lucy Worsley

If you missed my conversation with Lucy Worsley—about my problematic fave Catherine de Medici, the “Austen Problem” and whether you should get a wife (yes)—then here’s the whole thing. We did not wear matching glasses deliberately, I swear. My big takeaway is that the French called the “Field of the Cloth of Gold” by the rather less evocative name of “Camp of the Golden Sheet”. To pre-order the book, click here for the UK, and here for the US.

2 weeks ago | lucyworsley.substack.com | Lucy Worsley |Helen Lewis

Thank you for tuning into my live video with the brilliant ! We talked about Jean Plaidy (again - she’s always coming up at MY LIFE IN THE PAST), Catherine de Medici, royal biographies, Tolstoy’s wife, and the problematic concept of the ‘genius’. Helen talked about the role of biopics in the making of a ‘genius’, the way we like our geniuses to be flawed individuals, and the myth-making that grows up around them.

Feb 2, 2025 | sarahwilson.substack.com | Sarah Wilson |Helen Lewis |Kei Ikeda

OK, this is my last post for 2024. I’ll be back in January with both the weekly reads available to everyone, and the final few chapters of the Book Serialisation for the paid subscriber community. I reckon we’re about four chapters from the finish line! Feel free to catch up on the rest of the book so far, here. The first three chapters are free to everyone, as are a few others along the way. Meanwhile, a little sign off message from inside a campervan.