Margaret Reynolds

Professor Margaret Reynolds is a Professor of English and Modern Culture at Queen Mary University of London's School of English and Drama. She holds degrees from Oxford and London University, specializing in 19th–21st century literature, poetry, and the transmission of classical works. Her research includes feminist critiques of forgotten texts like Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Aurora Leigh, which earned her the British Academy’s Rose Mary Crawshay Prize (1993). She has taught at Leeds, King’s College London, and Birmingham University, and was a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge (Life Member).

• Education: MA (Oxford), PhD (London)
• Key Works: The Sappho History, Victorian Women Poets, Penguin’s Adam Bede

Her research interests span classical reception, adoption narratives, and contemporary poetry. She has contributed to The Guardian and The Times, worked on BBC Radio (including presenting Adventures in Poetry), and served as a Foundling Museum Trustee until 2022. Her memoir The Wild Track (2021) explores her adoption journey.

• Awards: Rose Mary Crawshay Prize (1993)
• Teaching: Courses on London’s literary culture, modern writing, and children’s literature.