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Heather Hind

Department: English
Discipline: English

Project Summary

My thesis is a study of hairwork in Victorian literature and culture. Hairwork—the crafting of objects such as jewellery and embroideries out of human hair—had a surge in popularity in Britain between the 1830s and 1880s and so this period is my main historical focus. I explore fictional and non-fictional writings on hairwork, from craft manuals and womens’ magazines instructing in and advertising hairwork to novels and poetry representing it, while charting the intersections between material object and text. My thesis will include chapters on the Brontës, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Wilkie Collins, and Margaret Oliphant.

Supervisory Team

Supervisors: Dr Patricia Zakreski (Exeter), Dr Daisy Hay (Exeter) and Dr Tara Puri (Bristol)

Dr Samantha Matthews (Bristol) is a third supervisor while Dr Puri is on leave.

Wider Research Interests

Hair and hairwork, material culture, textiles, handicrafts, visual culture, fashion, the Brontës, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Wilkie Collins, and Margaret Oliphant.