My primary field of research has grown from my PhD thesis which explored the ways in which Walter Scott and Jane Austen use familial motifs to simultaneously uphold and subvert conventions of genre and narrative. To do this I looked at three parts of each novel: the plot, the discourse, and the narrative voice. Following on from this, I have combined my academic research with my role as a professional, traditional storyteller to consider the relationship between orality and literature. Below is a list of projects that I am working on.

The role of the family in the novels of Walter Scott and Jane Austen:

1. •The connection between maternity and writing in Walter Scott’s novels.
   

    https://muse.jhu.edu/article/639463

1. •The role of maternity in Scott’s Count Robert of Paris.
   

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/773424

1. •Walter Scott’s presentation of fatherhood.
   

2. •Jane Austen and Walter Scott on infancy.
   

3. •The outcast in Walter Scott’s novels.
   

Other work on Walter Scott:

1. •The representation of the future in Guy Mannering.
   

2. •Scott’s representation of storytellers: joint project with Lisa McKenna.
   

3. •Teaching Scott and Shakespeare.
   

        http://www.romtext.org.uk/teaching-romanticism-xiv-shakespearean-legacies/

1. •The Reception of Walter Scott in China.
   

2. •Walter Scott and the Historical Novel.
   

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gale-Researcher-Guide-Creation-Historical-ebook

Contemporary Storytelling:

1. •A comparative exploration of Chinese and British contemporary story-collecting (book chapter).
   

2. •A comparative exploration of Chinese, Korean and British storytelling with a focus on passing on stories to the next generation (book chapter).
   

        https://www.cambridgescholars.com/china-beyond-the-binary

Reviews:

1. •Review of Marmion.
   

       http://www.bars.ac.uk/review

1. •Review of Walter Scott and Fame.
   

Magazine Articles:     

1. •International storytelling (magazine article).
   

2. •Storytelling for the elderly (magazine article).
   

        http://tracscotland.org/Blethers28.pdf

1. •The role of listeners in storytelling (magazine article).
   

2. •Travelling by train in China.
   

        http://www.senrug.co.uk/newsletter-30

1. •Working in China as an English Literature Lecturer.
   

       https://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/working-overseas

I am currently working on turning my PhD thesis into a monograph.

Additionally, I am open to other avenues of research relating to literature, storytelling, or pedagogy. I am always keen to collaborate with others on any of these topics.

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