And a few traces of the Pre-Raphs, obvs

Two plays by May Morris are being performed for the first time!

Notes for reading groups

Is this little oil painting 'after Veronese' painted by the poet?

Marking #WorldArtDay 2026

Mostly Christina Rossetti, celebrating the season in poetry

Dyce's The Good Shepherd sold at auction

Recording of my inaugural lecture, March 20th 2026

I’m always happy to celebrate William Morris, and since this is #MorrisMonth and today is his birthday, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to write about him.

Every day, obviously, but especially on International Women's Day

Birmingham City University invites you to Professor Serena Trowbridge's Inaugural Lecture.

In her book of poems for children, Sing-Song, Christina Rossetti included a little poem for Shrove Tuesday, ‘Mix a Pancake’, which appeared with an illustration by Arthur Hughes:

And how to celebrate Christmas with the Morrises

Intimate and emotional depictions of Christ's birth

Nostalgic Christmas crime and a Pre-Raphaelite mention...

The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.

Medieval, Socialist, fairly jolly - all very Morris.

Celebrating Christina Rossetti on her birthday

Poems containing prompts for harmful content prove effective at duping large language models

Time to get festive with Arthur Hughes

Dante and Beatrice: The Wedding Feast

I always come back to Emma Sandys!

Preserving a moment in marble

The man who flirted with Goethe's daughter-in-law!

English at Birmingham City University is placed 13th in the Times University Rankings 2026 League Table, and the University received Gold for Student Experience in the last Teaching Excellence Framework.  In REF 2021 the Unit of Assessment...

Looking closely at Ford Madox Brown's painting

I used to read and review every book shortlisted for the Booker Prize, but these days both time and inclination are lacking.

Two plays by May Morris that are sadly overlooked

Swift’s cover transforms the corpse-like Ophelia into a striking image, with her eyes open and staring, as though a dead woman has come back to life to accuse us.

Some reflections for National Poetry Day

Visiting the exhibition in Bournemouth

Thinking about best-beloved books from childhood

Please don't take this too seriously.

Free event, features new research on Pre-Raphaelitism to consider the future of the field, particularly for doctoral researchers/academics.

Drawing-room comedy with a sharp edge

Tony Foster's work at Cornwall Museum & Art Gallery