My name is Vic and I am a researcher of Victorian literature, print, politics, and culture. I’m currently a Lecturer in Modern History at the University of York, where I write and teach on all aspects of 19th century British and transatlantic politics. I’m especially interested in the Chartist movement and the development of the periodical press from the late 18th to early 20th centuries. I’ve published on aspects of Chartist literature and culture in academic formats as well as zines for the Kennington Chartist Project and West Yorkshire Social History Society, as well as contributing to some forthcoming broadcast projects (updates to come!).

Please get in touch if you’d like to talk about any aspects of print history, Victorian periodicals, gender and labour history, or period dramas.

Back in 2020 I completed my PhD in English and History at the University of Leeds. My thesis was funded by the White Rose College of Arts and Humanities (Arts & Humanities Research Council) and examined the ways in which the Northern Star was used as a tool to create and maintain communities of protest during the Chartist movement in Britain. My research interests revolve around gender (especially deconstructing masculinity), labour, food studies, protest, narrative form, print history, media studies from the 19th century to present, and digital humanities. I completed my MA in Victorian Literature at the University of Leeds in 2016, during which time I ambitiously established this blog. My BA in English Literature with English Language & Linguistics was completed at the University of Roehampton in 2014, where I developed my interests in language and gender, postcolonial studies, food studies, and the Victorian novel.

This blog is about my journey into academia, and also about my research and sharing resources. As the first graduate in my family, I firmly believe that the knowledge accumulated within the academy needs to be shared as widely as possible.

If you’d like to talk more or recommend some books, find me on Twitter at @vjc_torianist, or email me. All views expressed by me both here and on social media are my own and not representative of the University of Leeds or York.