Teaching

I teach literature from the Renaissance to the mid eighteenth century.

About me

I studied English at Cambridge and first came to Oxford as a Junior Research Fellow at Christ Church in 1999, moving to Catz as a University Lecturer in 2004. My publications include Spenser’s Forms of History (2002), A Critical Companion to Spenser Studies (2006), and Shakespeare in Company (2013). My book The Cut Out Girl (2018) won the 2018 Costa Book of the Year award.

Research

I am interested in connections between history writing and poetry in early modern England.  In recent years my research has focused primarily on Renaissance drama and the material realities of London’s theatre world.

Graduate supervision

I have supervised graduate students at Masters and PhD level reception history, antiquarianism, theatre history, Spenser, and Shakespeare.

Faculty webpage