Tim Parnell

Tim Parnell is a Senior Lecturer in English at Goldsmiths, University of London, specializing in eighteenth-century fiction with a focus on Laurence Sterne and Jonathan Swift. He holds a BA (1985) and PhD (1996) from Goldsmiths’ College, University of London.

His research explores Sterne’s relationship with mid-eighteenth-century print culture, satire, and the history of the novel. He has authored critical editions of Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey, and his recent work includes Laurence Sterne: A Literary Life (2020). Parnell’s scholarship spans Sterne’s influence on postmodernists like Kundera, Swift’s satirical traditions, and colonial/postcolonial literature.

Key Roles:

• Literary Director of the Goldsmiths Prize (established 2013)
• Editor of Constructing Christopher Marlowe (2006)

Research Themes:

• Experimental narrative techniques
• Interplay between biography and fiction
• Satire across eras
• Anglican sensibility and cultural critique

His articles and book chapters analyze Sterne’s engagement with belief systems, Swift’s Lucianic roots, and the evolution of the novel from Cervantes to contemporary experimental works.