Professor Dr. Sophie Ratcliffe

Biography

Sophie Ratcliffe is a Professor at the Faculty of English at the University of Oxford, primarily focusing on literature and creative criticism. Her research interests encompass the history of reading, materiality, and emotion, and she is currently completing a monograph funded by the Leverhulme Trust, which delves into children's libraries in the nineteenth century. Ratcliffe's recent book, 'Lost Properties of Love,' was published in the UK in 2019 and is set for release in the USA in 2024. Her work includes a plethora of publications in nineteenth-century literature, exploring themes such as selfhood, the interplay between literature and medicine, and engaging with the medical humanities. She conducts seminars connecting literature with health service practices. Furthermore, she has written on notable authors and overseen multiple doctorates in literature from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. Part of her teaching involves undergraduate courses on various themes, engaging with works from authors including Dickens, Trollope, and Beckett, among others, while also investigating the intersections of literature, visual arts, and pop music.

Research Interests