Print media
I’m a regular contributor to several of Britain’s bestselling history magazines including BBC History Magazine and Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. I have also written articles for The Conversation and Inside Time, using my knowledge of history to respond to events and debates in the present.
MAGAZINE
BBC History Magazine
I’m a regular contributor on the Victorians, writing about topics such as prisons, literature, crimes, scandals, Victorian life and social history.
Recent articles include:
Queens of the Underworld: Six female criminals who scandalised society’ (November 2024)
‘Scandalous Victorians! Eight shocking cases that transformed 19th century Britain’ (May 2024)
'Victorian Murder Scandals: What six killings tell us about women's lives in the 19th century' (January 2024)
'Victorian schools of hard knocks: how adults were taught literacy in UK prisons’ (December, 2023)
'Victorian Lady Killers: Five Women Whose Crimes Shocked Society' (April, 2023)
'Dickens: Social Crusader' (July, 2020)
'Elizabeth Fry: The Great Reformer' (May, 2017)
'Was Victorian life really so grim?' (Christmas, 2015)
MAGAZINE
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
I have written a number of articles on the history of prisons and the use of prison records for genealogical research.
Articles include:
'Focus on: Prison Records' (November, 2021)
'Record Masterclass: Prison Registers' (September, 2019)
'Silence and Separation' (Summer, 2019)
DIGITAL
The Conversation
I have written several articles for The Conversation based on my research into Victorian society, crime and popular culture. My articles achieved a combined readership of more than 70,000.
They included:
'Think entertainment is violent today? The Victorians were much, much worse' (13 October 2016)
'Jack the Ripper, a women's history museum and London's fascination with all things gory' (31 July 2015)
'New evidence points to old Jack the Ripper suspect - but here is why I'm not convinced' (10 September 2014)
ARTICLE
Inside Time
‘For many in the UK, encounters with prison are limited to museums. Whether viewing a medieval dungeon or a 19th century model prison, visitors can often be heard breathing a sigh of relief that such grim times belong to a distant past…’
In September 2022, I wrote an article on parallels between Victorian and present-day prisons after seeing an photograph of a cell at HMP Wandsworth.
Other publications for general audiences
I have written several editorials for History & Policy, a platform which provides policymakers and journalists with access to historical research with direct relevance to current issues.
I am a member of the Editorial Board, and regular editor, for The Historian, the Historical Association’s history magazine for members.
Contact me
To talk about media, consultancy, broadcast and project opportunities, please get in touch - I’d love to chat.