Dr. Lucy Powell

Biography

Lucy Powell is an Associate Member at Trinity College and a Junior Research Fellow specializing in English literature of the long eighteenth century. Her research focuses on the intricate ways that ideas of selfhood were generated during this period, particularly through the lens of fictional representations of prisons in novels. Powell examines how novelistic characters respond to incarceration, and how these narratives intersect with real-world prison reform movements. Additionally, she is currently exploring British identities in relation to global trade networks, specifically through her project on the biographies of seven birds that signify ideological paths of the Empire. Her work emphasizes the impact of material culture on literary fiction and subjectivity. Powell's teaching covers topics related to crime and punishment in the eighteenth century, and she is recognized as a New Generation Thinker by the BBC since 2011, contributing to various media discussions and programs. Recently, she presented at the National Trust symposium on female craft and design in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focusing on the role of femininity and feathers in that era.

Research Interests