Chloe Houston

Dr. Chloe Houston is an Associate Professor and joint Head of the Department of English Literature at the University of Reading. She specializes in cross-cultural encounters in early modern English literature, with a focus on travel literature and drama. Her research explores depictions of non-European worlds, religions, and political systems. Key works include *The Renaissance Utopia* (2013) and *Persia in Early Modern English Drama, 1530-1699: The Imagined Empire* (2023). She co-edits collections on travel writing and utopian studies, contributing to journals like *Renaissance Studies* and *Studies in Travel Writing*. Houston teaches modules on early modern drama, utopian/dystopian literature, and global Renaissance studies. She is actively involved in the Early Modern Research Centre (@ReadingEMRC).

Her teaching portfolio includes undergraduate courses like *The Bloody Stage: Revenge and Death in Renaissance Drama* and postgraduate modules such as *The Global Renaissance*. She supervises PhD students in early modern studies, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to cross-cultural representation. Houston’s recent novel, *The Book Game* (co-authored under the pseudonym Frances Wise), is forthcoming in 2025 with 4th Estate.

Research interests span utopian fiction, Persian empire imagery, and the intersections of travel writing with political counsel. Her publications analyze how early modern texts constructed ‘otherness’ through language, theater, and narrative. Houston’s work bridges literary analysis with historical context, offering insights into how early modern England conceptualized its place within a globalizing world.