Research interests: classical reception, especially the medieval reception of Ovid; the poetry of Chaucer, Gower, and other later-medieval English authors; forgeries and pseudo-texts; and medievalism.
At its core all of my research is concerned with reception and the Middle Ages. One strand is medieval classical reception: how Roman poets, especially Ovid and Statius, were read and used in the Middle Ages. My first book, Medieval Responses to Ovid's Exile, explores medieval intellectual and literary responses to Ovid's exile poetry in the Middle Ages, focusing especially on Ovid in the schoolroom and the poetry of Chaucer and Gower. In 2025 I edited the volume Authenticity in Medieval and Early Modern Literature, thinking more broadly about the transmission of knowledge, authority, and authenticity in the Middle Ages. I am currently preparing a co-edited volume on classical learning in the European Middle Ages.
I am currently writing a book on medieval forgeries of Ovid (Forging Ovid: A Medieval Metamorphosis), a highly enjoyable and surprising project. While working on this, I have been delighted to collaborate with colleagues across the globe, in editing the paratexts to the pseudo-Ovidian De vetula (in two articles); and in proposing to rehabilitate the (pseudo)-Ovidian Nux back into the genuine Ovidian canon, using stylometric analysis (forthcoming, Helios).
Another reception strand, and a more recent research interest, involves the postmedieval reception of the Middle Ages, from Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida (forthcoming) to modern detective fiction. I am especially interested in the varieties of Chaucerian reception, and have recently published on Rudyard Kipling's medievalism.
I teach Old and Middle English, from 650-1550. This includes Prelims Paper 2 (650-1350) and FHS Paper 2 (1350-1550); and for Course II, Paper 1 (650-1100) and select tutorials for Paper 2 (1066-1550). I additionally teach Prelims Paper 1A, which focuses on the English language.
I am able to supervise undergraduate and graduate dissertations which focus on later medieval literature.
I am the Associate Editor for Chapters II-V of The Year's Work in English Studies.
I am passionate about accessibility to the history of the world around us via public engagement. Having secured competitive funding from National Lottery Heritage Funding, I organised a series of heritage events in collaboration with St Bartholomew the Great Church (a concert of Early Modern music and guided walks on Renaissance and Reformation in Smithfield). I enjoy walking, and have organised many walking tours in Oxford and London (for instance, on ‘Early Modern Latin in London’, 'Giordano Bruno's London', and a ‘Church Crawl’ in Oxford). I have also co-organised medieval pilgrimages. I would welcome any suggestions for future collaborations.
