Nicola Parsons

Nicola Parsons is an Associate Professor in Eighteenth-Century Literature at the University of Sydney, affiliated with the Discipline of English and Writing in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She holds a BA (Hons) from ANU, a PhD from Melbourne University, and a Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies.

Her research explores eighteenth-century literature and cultural history, focusing on lesser-known prose forms like secret histories, periodicals (e.g., Tatler, Spectator), and miscellanies. She has authored Reading Gossip in Early Eighteenth-Century England and co-edited volumes such as Making Ideas Visible in the Eighteenth Century. Her work is supported by ARC grants and international fellowships.

Recent projects include Consuming Character: Harris's List and Eighteenth-Century Print, examining disreputable texts like Harris’s List of Covent-Garden Ladies. She has been recognized with the SUPRA HDR Supervisor Award (2023, 2024) and teaching excellence awards.

She supervises PhD/MPhil students on topics like early modern women’s writing, epistolary fiction, and transnational literary connections. Current projects involve collaborations with institutions in Spain and North America, and she serves on editorial boards for Brill and Cambridge UP series.