I didn’t make this with Yorkshire Tea, but I am based in
Yorkshire so there shouldn’t be a problem with the authorities, should they get
in touch. Some good news; after a couple of years of grafting, I’m pleased to
report that I’ve been given a place on a funded PhD! It’s a joint project
between the University of Leicester and the National Maritime Museum and I am
so very, very excited. Did I mention it’s on prison hulks? It’s on prison
hulks. It’s got to be the coolest topic in the world, am I right? There’s this
stupid little children’s book called “Victorian Crime” that I bought in a
charity shop in Hebden Bridge during my home-schooling years; it’s full of
amazing pictures and snippets of kids on hulks or getting hauled in by the
police and I was completely obsessed with it. From there, I went on to a phase devouring Newgate novels, followed by an adoration of a series of books
written by Andrew Pepper about an ex-Bow Street Runner called Pyke. This whole
PhD project is just filling my head with stories but I really can’t wait to get
back to some proper academic work.
