Steven

If you've been pondering doing a #PhD on #Preraphaelite literature and/or #Gothic (as Jane Morris clearly is here), do get in touch - at Birmingham City University we have funded studentships for UK applicants in English&Media; more info here www.bcu.ac.uk/research/doc... #phdfunding #doctoralstudy

A photograph of the painting 'Girl with Ale Jug and Pipes' in the Walker Art Gallery. The painting depicts a young girl in a bonnet and embroidered shawl carrying a blue and white jug with long-stemmed smoking pipes with a grey sky and bare tree behind her and a backdrop of terraced houses.

Girl with Jug of Ale and Pipes (James Campbell, 1856) at @walkerartgallery.bsky.social was giving Alice-for-Short (William De Morgan, 1907) vibes during my visit this morning. Only, I don't think Alice will have been quite so well turned out.

Not the Jane Morris I'm used to seeing.

The couple who studies together gets into mass amounts of student debt together! My husband has now started studying for his Law LLB (very exciting). We are officially a student house at 35 and 38 years old!

Day one! (Technically day two, but this was our first session...) @universityofleeds.bsky.social #AHCLeeds #PhD #PGR #EnglishLiterature #WilliamDeMorgan

It really was, and it was lovely to meet you, too! Thank you so much for organising and having me there.

Why Does Pre-Raphaelitism Matter Now? A Symposium on Contemporary Interventions in Art and Literature

Yesterday, I had a great time presenting at 'Why Does Pre-Raphaelitism Matter Now?' at the @bmi1854.bsky.social. I've shared some brief reflections here: exploringdemorgan.substack.com/p/why-does-p...

A huge thank you to @serena-t.bsky.social for organising!

Had a lovely evening tuning into @suzannefagence.bsky.social's talk on Burne-Jones and Pre-Raphaelite Stained Glass after work today. A nice way to relax after the start of Freshers' Week at work!

I've created a Substack to document my journey & research as a PGR. If you're interested in the Pre-Raphs or De Morgan, or just want to nose, please subscribe for regular updates. I'll be using it to reflect and muse on whatever I happen to discover. exploringdemorgan.substack.com/p/exploring-...

Calling all Pre-Raph researchers: event Sept 20th in Birmingham to bring together doctoral students & academics, curators & writers to share their research & discuss 'Why does Pre-Raphaelitism matter now?' tinyurl.com/mrxs4cr5
#preraphaelite #art #victorian #literature @preraphaelitesoc.bsky.social

Thrilled to have been accepted to present a paper on social class and environment in William De Morgan's first two novels with links through to my upcoming PhD research at the 'Why Pre-Raphaelitism Matters Now' dialogue day at @bmi1854.bsky.social, organised by @serena-t.bsky.social, next month.

My university IT account is all back up and running. Two months until the PhD starts!

A panel of cream-colored cotton with an outlined design of intertwining stems, leaves, and anemone flowers drawn on. A small portion of the design has been stitched in silk threads: a blue-green stem, one large yellow-green serrated leaf, a few smaller leaves in various shades of green, two small orange buds, and two mid-sized anemone blooms in shaded pink. A small portion of the background is also stitched, in white.

Happy #WorldEmbroideryDay!

This panel, held at the V&A, is a great example of how Morris & Co. sold much of its embroidery: not as finished pieces, but as kits.

The piece would be started by a Morris & Co. worker, demonstrating the recommended techniques, then sold with all necessary supplies.

Happy World Embroidery Day with some Morris Magic.

1. 🖼️ ‘Poesis’, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, C.1880, @ngvmelbourne.bsky.social.

2. 🖼️ ‘Bed-Hangings’, 1917, May Morris, @cranbrookartmuseum.bsky.social

3. 🖼️ ‘The Forest’, tapestry, William Morris, 1887, V&A.

I love the vest - where did you get it from?

Spotted a wild Aurora Triumphans on Murder, She Wrote (S01E09) last night. The last place I expected to see Evelyn De Morgan!

This is my third Ernaux and whilst I've not been able to personally connect with the others (Shame, I Remain in Darkness), A Man's Place draws many parallels with my own experience and, in a way, has given voice to some of the feelings I've not known how to express. #BookSky

Onto the second, already distraught that I'll have to wait until November for the third.

Annual leave today calls for a slow morning reading On the Calculation of Volume I (Solvej Balle, tr. Barbara J Haveland) in bed with sleepy company.

Super excited to be organising a symposium on 'Why does Pre-Raphaelitism matter now?' Looking for postgrad/postdoc papers on current research
blog.bham.ac.uk/19cc/2025/06...
Or you can just come along and lie around like a Burne-Jones maiden
#preraphaelite #postgraduate #nineteenthcenturystudies

My office for the day. A gazebo in my overgrown garden with blackbird chicks chirping from their nest in the shrubbery as they're fed, untamed wisteria, budding onions, and a sprawl of who knows what that apparently bees will love, 'guaranteed', and which I can confirm that they do.

English and boys: Why are young men turning away from our subject? (16:45 -17:30, 19 June 2025) | The English Association We support the teaching, learning, and enjoyment of English at all levels of education, from early years to further and higher education and beyond.

Boys and English : what’s going on ? Tomorrow! 4.45 free on line discussion, led by @kovesi.bsky.social with teachers, teacher-educators, researchers, & charity leaders who contributed to our Spring Newsletter exploring this hugely significant issue. Sign up!
englishassociation.ac.uk/english-and-...

With the internet out at home, I'm welcoming being forced into working offline. In the garden. Under a blanket. Note to self: work doesn't always mean being sat at the computer.

A huge congratulations!

Day two of six at The Queen's Foundation in Birmingham for CitizensUK residential training towards a PGCert in Community Organising. Great time so far starting to make connections across the UK with leaders from such a range of backgrounds and organisations.

A surprise batch of Evelyn De Morgan questions on #UniversityChallenge tonight including reference to the Williamson Art Gallery in my home town! I'm ashamed to have only got 2/3 correct, though!

6th December - "William De Morgan: Novels, Socialism, and Victorian Class Struggles" Online Lecture 6th December - 4pm FREE TO FRIENDS OF THE DE MORGAN FOUNDATION. Join for £30 per year to access all of our lectures and receive the exclusive Friends' Journal. JOIN ---------- Foll...

Join me at 4pm on December 6th as I deliver my first online talk with the De Morgan Foundation.
“William De Morgan: Novels, Socialism, and Victorian Class Struggles” www.demorgan.org.uk/product/nove... #DeMorgan #WilliamDeMorgan #EdwardianFiction #VictorianFiction #EnglishLiterature #PreRaphaelite

Thank you! I'm in Manchester every couple of months or so to see friends and it's only around 50mins or so away by train so that would be lovely.

Thank you - fingers crossed it turns out as good as it sounds! I'm applying to Leeds where I completed my MA and to BCU because of their all of their work and connections with everything Pre-Raphaelite and De Morgan adjacent.

I completed my MA dissertation on Vance and Alice for Short focused on environment and social class. Currently applying for PhD study to continue research on his other novels. I'm so happy to see someone else reading them!