In which Google mistakes me for another Matthew Wright

There’s no getting around the fact that my name is a bit popular. It’s led to numerous issues, including (a) an email begging me to return to TV, and (b) approaches from classics students wanting help with essays.

In the case of (a) it turned out I’d been confused with Matthew Wright the British TV breakfast presenter. The other was more interesting. I was mistaken for the Matthew Wright who lectures in classical history at the University of Exeter. By his own students. Yah.

I did think of playing along with that one. Like the other Matthew Wright I’m academically qualified in history. I work professionally in the field, have published very extensively, and am affiliated with University College in London (I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society on merit of my contribution to historical scholarship at global level.) I mean, sure, I mostly do modern history and know nothing much about the ancient world, but I did read Tacitus and Herodotus as part of my first post-grad degree. I also know all about the key figure of ancient history, Diana of Themyscira, daughter of Zeus and Queen Hippolyta, and have many questions about how she was able to lead an impromptu trench raid in October 1918, before assassinating Erich Ludendorff.

All of which, surely, must be of value to classics students. Probably. But I didn’t try to find out, instead telling them they’d managed to find the wrong historian.

How did all this happen? The problem, it turns out, is that virtually all my books, my website (for which I am the registrar), and large parts of my online presence have been credited to this Exeter lecturer. By Google. They even use his photograph instead of mine. I’ve been trying to get it corrected, but dealing with Google is like shouting into a void and expecting somebody to answer.

I’d prefer to be credited with my own books – and it’s trivial to prove I wrote them, not another Matthew Wright. But I guess if Google says somebody else of the same name wrote them and then make their error impossible to correct – well, clearly somebody else of the same name wrote them. Sigh.

For the record, my official list is here. It’s MY OFFICIAL MATTHEW WRIGHT PUBLICATIONS LIST – ACCEPT NO OTHER!

I’ve published nothing on classical history, nothing on religion (as penned by another Matthew Wright, which Amazon kept generously adding to my author page), and nothing on computer programming (yup, a fourth Matthew Wright).  Just what I’ve listed on my own website. It’s the only official list of my stuff.

That said, there IS a classical book I wouldn’t mind writing. Here’s a possible cover.

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2022