Course overview

Our MA?offers a rich interdisciplinary study of the key events, debates, discourses, genres, and preoccupations of the revolutionary 19th-century period and its afterlives. This is an opportunity to explore an era you may be familiar with in much greater depth, and with close attention to the fascinating contexts in which the texts were produced. Revisit authors you already love, and be introduced to new favourites, in a stimulating academic atmosphere.

The Department of English, housed in a Grade II listed building (The Vicarage) designed by John Douglas – in an institution founded in 1839 and officially opened by Gladstone in 1842 – has longstanding teaching and research strengths in 19th-century literature. Our course is taught by a dedicated and experienced team of tutors with expertise in a wide range of topics and genres, including Romantic poetry, sensation fiction, the Gothic, gender, material culture, science and technology, neo-Victorian fiction, children’s literature, crime, disability studies, travel literature, periodicals, regional and national identity, and many more. As part of the programme, and with the support of a supervisor, students will design, research and write a dissertation on a 19th-century author or theme chosen by them, developing specialisms of their own.

Job prospects

Many previous graduates have gone on to complete PhDs, or into careers such as teaching and administration. The skills you will acquire during the programme – enhanced communication, analytical and research skills – are transferrable and attractive to employers.