Who Am I and Who is Clio?

My name is Rebecca Darley and I am a historian. I started Coffee with Clio to share the past and what it means to me: a constant source of fascination, inspiration and fun; a part of who we all are; and above all, a different perspective on the present.

Clio, according to ancient Greek mythology, was the Muse of History.1 She is usually depicted holding a scroll and her name comes from the Greek verb kleo, meaning ‘to recount, make famous, celebrate’. The Muses were the daughters of Zeus, the king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, a Titan, whose name means ‘memory’, so, the children of divinity and memory. Each of them inspired people to create different kinds of ‘performing art’.

Historians, astronomers, poets, dancers and singers all gathered up observations from the world and combined them with their own training, experiences and intuition to perform things that could, in turn, inspire others.

And the coffee?

These days, history isn’t usually seen as a performing art. Instead, the stereotype of the historian is quiet and perhaps a bit solitary. Like all stereotypes, it is true and misleading. There are weeks in the library or reading and writing and at home, but there is also the book and the lecture, presenting something finished and as close to perfect as we can get. Those are our ‘performances’.

But what about sharing ideas with one another, talking about other peoples’ work, or swapping stories just for fun?

That’s why this newsletter is called ‘Coffee with Clio’. It is a place to hang out with the Muse and with other people who are also inspired by history. It’s a place to have cosy chats about interesting discoveries, to share a book that’s sparked new thoughts or test out ideas while they are still growing.

‘Going for coffee’ is something I learned to do at university, when I first started thinking of myself as a historian. It became a code for taking time out, with no pressure, to meet somebody new or catch up with an old friend.

You don’t get actual coffee if you subscribe to this newsletter (sorry!), though you can get me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber ;-)… But you can pour yourself a brew (or a hot chocolate or a glass of wine) and ‘go for coffee’, with no pressure: just the chance to find out something new and get to know a community of people who also want to see the world a bit differently.

Why Subscribe? And What you Get…

I publish a newsletter via Coffee with Clio once a week, with a historical reflection, book review, sometimes photos and a discussion of somewhere I’ve been, or about a historical project I’m working. Subscribe for free to receive these newsletters direct to your inbox. You can also comment and chat via the website and Substack app. I love hearing from readers!

Free subscribers (and, in fact, anybody at all!) can also access my ‘Reading Suggestions’ page. Here, I keep track of books which I’ve recommended or reviewed (positively) in individual Coffee with Clio posts. You can find a reference to the book, a brief summary of why it is cool and a link back to the post(s) where I mention it. If you’re looking for recommendations for yourself or great gift ideas for a historically-minded loved one, check it out. It gets updated every week with anything new I’ve talked about.

You can also become a paid subscriber for a recommended subscription of US $7 per month or an annual discount rate of US $70. (Don’t worry - if you are in a different currency zone, Substack does all of the conversions.) Writing and editing is currently my full-time job, after a career in universities, so your support means the world to me and directly contributes towards my ongoing research and publishing.

As a paid subscriber you also get some additional bonuses and the best thing of all? I’m still figuring out what those are! So, you can help to design your own subscription package around what most appeals to you. At the moment, I have a plan for some extra video lectures and audio-only podcasts. I’m also going to be running some live webinars about specific topics and, if four or five people (or more!) are interested, I would love to run a book club, where we choose something to read then check in for monthly or six-weekly chats about it.

And I’m open to other ideas, too. If you are sitting here thinking, ‘Well, that all sounds *okay*, but if she threw in [fantastic idea for connecting over history], I’d definitely sign up,’ just drop me an email, comment on one of my posts or connect with me via my Substack chat, Substack Notes or on LinkedIn.

History and Politics

History and politics have always walked hand-in-hand. Who gets written about and who doesn’t, who are the heroes, the villains, the success stories and the decliners-and-fallers are all choices shaped by politics, that shape politics. So, I wanted to end on a few words about what I don’t do here.

In this newsletter you won’t find me telling you what to think about a historical or a present-day issue. I won’t mail you to say that ‘history says’ that you should do this or that or believe one thing over another (except when it comes to people lying about the past for political purposes or making provable mistakes with evidence). I don’t often talk about current politics and, if I do, it will often be a few weeks or months later.

That is because perspective, for me, is what history is all about. It provides a way to step back from the now, to think about similar or different situations and see how people got themselves into and out of them. It is full of complexity and nuance, like today.

It is also because I believe that there is value in having spaces to think, with no predetermined outcomes. I do have views and I’m not going to try to hide them away, but how I understand the world every day is shaped by thinking about the past. It gives me frameworks for seeing other people’s points of view and different priorities to my own. I assume that it is the same for you, and that you don’t need me to tell you what you *should* take from a story or what it means you *ought to* believe about the world in general.

What I mean by all of that is, I hope that some of the things I share here are useful to you for seeing your present differently and more clearly, but I’m not here to tell you when or why or how. I hope that Coffee with Clio is a bit of a break when the present is messy, painful or stressful: that is something history has always done for me. And I hope that, if the past inspires you too, you’ll join the conversation without pressure or anxiety.2

So happy reading, see you in the comments and chat, and join me weekly for a coffee with Clio, getting perspective from the past.

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