Dr. Lucy Sixsmith

What do we do with books, and what do we do when we read? These questions are particularly interesting to me in relation to the nineteenth century, when industrialisation and technological change made books and print much cheaper and more ubiquitous. My research explores the use of books as objects as well as texts in this period, focusing on nineteenth-century bibles and the unexpected biographies behind the signs of use they still contain.

I'm interested in evangelical history, and the history of charismatic movements, worship and spiritual abuse. A trade book on this, When the Music Fades: Power, Surrender and the Soul Survivor Generation, is forthcoming with Canterbury Press.

I enjoy thinking about composition practices, verse and prose style, close reading and women's history. I teach practical criticism and critical practice, lyric, and nineteenth century literature.