Introduction

I went to school in East Sussex (Ringmer Community College and then South Downs Sixth Form College) before studying for a BA in English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London, where I studied medieval English literature for the first time. I then studied for a MPhil in Medieval Literature at Sidney Sussex College at the University of Cambridge, and a DPhil at St John’s College, University of Oxford (funded by an AHRC DTP and Lamb & Flag scholarship). My doctorate examined how medieval people reflected on the materiality of their books in their devotional writings.

Teaching

I teach the first year course Prelims 2, which spans Old and Middle English literature 650-1350, and the second year FHS Paper 2, which spans the later medieval period (1350-1550). I am also the English Subject Lead for the Astrophoria Foundation Year Programme at the University of Oxford.

Research

I am predominantly interested in three areas of research: perceptions of late medieval material texts, medievalism and craft, and medieval folk horror. Along with Dr Laura Varnam and Dr Kristen Haas Curtis, I founded the Guild of Medievalist Makers, which supports and connects creative-critical medievalists. 

Publications

Trade Press Books

  • Tales of Horror from Medieval England (Oxford: Bodleian Publishing, forthcoming)
  • Book Curses (Oxford: Bodleian Library Publishing, 2024)

Select Articles and Book Chapters 

  • ‘Cut, Pasted, and Pocketed: J. L. Carr’s Chaucer Pocketbook’, Inscription: The Journal of Material Text, 6 (2026) 92-103. 
  • ‘Late Medieval Book-Craft Recipes and Perceptions of the Book’, in Recipes and Book Culture in England 1350-1600, ed. by Carrie Griffin and Hannah Ryley (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2024), pp. 135-154. 
  • Marion Turner et al., ‘‘Chaucer’s World’ Study Days in Oxford for Post-16 Students: Enhancing Learning and Encouraging Wonder’, New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession, 3 (2023) 70-78
  • ‘Metaphors of Textual Materiality in Late Medieval Middle English Sermons’, Studies in Philology, 118 (2021) 631-665