I research the history of the English language as it intersects with society and literary culture from 1600 to the present. I have particular interests in the histories of English dictionaries, gender, sexuality, World Englishes, slang, and print censorship. My current research projects are on (1) the articulation of sexuality in 18th-century and Romantic literature, especially in the writings of Anne Lister and Byron, and (2) the making of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With Prof Charlotte Brewer, I am co-editing a digital edition of the correspondence of Sir James A. H. Murray, the first editor-in-chief of the OED (MurrayScriptorium.org).
Although my research focusses on English from the early modern onwards, my teaching stretches back to Old and Middle English. During the 2024–25 academic year, I am teaching Prelims Paper 1A ‘Introduction to English Language’ and FHS Course II Paper 4 ‘History of the English Language to c. 1800’.
