Serena Trowbridge

Dr. Serena Trowbridge is a Reader in Victorian Literature at Birmingham City University (BCU). She holds a Senior Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy and serves as Vice-President of the Pre-Raphaelite Society and Senior Vice-President of the Birmingham & Midland Institute. Previously, she served as Editor of the Review of the Pre-Raphaelite Society from 2004 to 2017.

Dr. Trowbridge earned her undergraduate degree in English and Art History from King's College London, followed by an MA in Textual Studies at the University of Birmingham. She completed her PhD, titled 'Christina Rossetti's Fractured Gothic', at Birmingham City University in 2010 under the supervision of Professor Fiona Robertson. Her monograph Christina Rossetti's Gothic was published by Bloomsbury in 2013.

Her research focuses on Gothic literature, graveyard poetry, Pre-Raphaelitism in art and literature, lunatic asylums, ecocriticism, and 18th- and 19th-century literature. She employs interdisciplinary approaches, blending literary analysis with art history and cultural studies. Her work explores themes of gender, identity, and the intersections between literary movements and societal contexts.

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Dr. Trowbridge supervises PhD candidates researching topics such as Pre-Raphaelite women, Walter Bagehot, Swinburne, and weather poetry. She has extensive experience as an external examiner for doctoral theses. While specific grant details are not provided, her research aligns with BCU's themes of Creative Cultures and Equitable Societies, emphasizing cultural heritage and inclusive scholarship.

As part of BCU's vibrant academic community, Dr. Trowbridge contributes to interdisciplinary research initiatives within the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR), though her primary focus remains within literary studies.