I trained at the University of Manchester where I completed a BA in History (2007), MA in Victorian Studies (2008), and an AHRC-funded PhD exploring the role played by newspapers in shaping Victorian ideas about the United States (2012). While finishing my doctoral project I obtained a 6 month lectureship at Swansea University before joining Edge Hill in the summer of 2012.

I work on the history of nineteenth-century Britain and America, with a particular focus on journalism, popular culture, jokes, transatlantic relations, and the Digital Humanities.

I teach across the BA History degree programme at Edge Hill. In particular, I am responsible for leading modules on Victorian journalism and the history of Crime and Society in 18th and 19th century England. My teaching methods make particularly extensive use of digital tools and archives and my modules are all designed to encourage students to use these resources in the pursuit of original historical research. I supervise BA and MA dissertations on subjects relating to nineteenth century social and cultural history. I am currently Director of Studies for two PhD students, both of whom are working on the history of nineteenth-century journalism. If you are interested in pursuing MA or PhD research linked to any of the topics outlined above, then please feel free to get in touch.