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ABOUT
Madeleine Pelling is an award-winning cultural historian, author and broadcaster. Her first book, Writing on the Wall: Graffiti, Rebellion and the Making of Eighteenth-Century Britain (Profile Books, 2024), tells a history of the period through the marks its inhabitants left behind. It was described as 'fascinating' by The Times, and 'ingenious' by The Spectator. Her second publishes in 2026.
Maddy is the writer and co-host of History Hit’s After Dark, and a regular contributor for television and radio, having worked with broadcasters including Channel 4, Sky Arts, Warner Bros and BBC.
She holds a PhD from the University of York, and her words appear in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, British Vogue, BBC History Magazine and History Today, as well as in numerous scholarly journals and edited collections. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
BOOKS
*BBC History Magazine Book of the Year 2024*
*History Today Magazine Book of the Year 2024*
A new cultural history of the long eighteenth century, Writing on the Wall is told through the marks its citizens left behind, bringing into focus lost voices from the highest to the lowest in society. From the centre of London to the islands of the Caribbean, Pelling goes in search of graffiti, evidence of how ordinary people experienced the world-changing events that defined their lives - from political prisoners to sex workers, homesick sailors, Romantic poets and the artisans of the industrial revolution.
Here are lives, loves, triumphs and failures, scratched into the walls of prisons and latrines, chalked up on doors and etched into windows. The names of their creators may be lost to history, but together they tell the real story of Britain's most rebellious and transformative century.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
DAN SNOW,
HISTORIAN & BROADCASTER
"You've read the Austen and seen the Gainsboroughs, well this is the real eighteenth century in the words of those who walked the streets, worked the coal seems and clung to the topsail yards."
JACQUELINE RIDING,
AUTHOR OF HOGARTH: A LIFE IN PROGRESS
"From the ingenious starting point of a humble scratch on glass or daub on brick, Madeleine Pelling crafts a rich and complex portrait of a society in transition"
FLORA FRASER,
AUTHOR OF PRETTY YOUNG REBEL
"An erudite, dazzling and thought-provoking study of the graffiti of the period - be its creator Romantic poet or Jacobite, King Mob or Caribbean prisoner of war, Pelling teases out lost narratives with humanity and flair"
PODCASTS
*Best New Presenter Nominee, ARIAs 2024*
*Rookie of the Year, True Crime Awards 2024*
Maddy is host, along with Dr Anthony Delaney, of History Hit's After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal, a podcast that takes listeners to the shadier corners of the past to shine a light on folklore, superstition and true crime. The show has received nominations and awards, and has hosted expert guests including Dr Tracy Borman OBE, Professor Ronald Hutton and actress and presenter Siobhán McSweeney.
Maddy is also available as an expert contributor to other podcasts, and has worked with partners including BBC History Extra, Churches Conservation Trust and BBC and Times Radio.
PRAISE FOR THE PODCAST
STYLIST MAGAZINE
"Hosted by historians Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling, this podcast dives into history’s scariest and strangest stories exploring everything from haunted pubs and witch trials to odd UFO sightings."
THE TIMES
"A rather more grounded podcast than many, its great to have real context offered in this fascinating area."
TELEVISION
Maddy is a confident and passionate presenter, having fronted documentaries including Burke and Hare and The King's Curse (History Hit, 2024). She is also a regular expert contributor, having appeared in documentaries including Titanic in Colour (Channel 4, 2024) Royal Autopsy (Sky, 2024), Mayhem! Secret Lives of the Georgian Kings (Blue Ant Media, 2024), Queens That Changed The World (Channel 4, 2023) and Who Do You Think You Are? Australia (Warner Bros, 2023).
Maddy's words appear in The Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, Vogue, BBC History and History Today and on Times and BBC radio. She posts on Instagram and YouTube (@MaddyPelling) and gives regular public talks, having appeared as a guest at Dan Schreiber's We Can Be Weirdos live show and Wilderness and Chalke Valley History festivals, among others.
Contact
Literary enquiries
Charlotte Merritt at Andrew Nurnberg Associates
For press, television and consultancy