Catherine Clarke
writer and academic

coming soon
A History of England in 25 Poems

Penguin Allen Lane
4 September 2025

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About

About Me

I'm a historian and writer with a passion for sharing stories. As an academic, I'm a Professor at the Institute of Historical Research, and I also hold a Visiting Professorship in English Literature at the University of Southampton. As an author, I write for wider audiences and love opportunities to speak and share my research.

Originally a specialist in the Middle Ages, I now work across periods of history and literature, with particular interests in place, heritage, and uses of the past. I've published on topics from medieval towns and cities to pilgrimage, from the earliest English poetry to underground legends, and from AI and 'Levelling Up' to the cultural history of mud. My research takes me to all kinds of fascinating and unexpected places, from walking in the Welsh Marches, to exploring devotional practices in Ethiopia, to crawling through the Bronze Age mines deep under Cheshire's Alderley Edge.

I am represented by Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown.

Projects

(PORT) Catherine Clarke 15-10-2407890_websize.jpg

At the Institute of Historical Research, I'm Director of the Centre for the History of People, Place and Community and also Director of the Victoria County History of England - a project founded in 1899 to write the history of every place in England from the earliest times to the present day. We're still going strong!

My work includes major public-facing heritage projects, grounded in research, including initiatives in Chester and Swansea. I devised and led creation of the St Thomas Way - a new heritage route from Swansea to Hereford, based on the real medieval pilgrimage of a hanged man who came back from the dead...

My work often explores creative approaches, both in my own practice and in collaboration with others. Recent short creative pieces include a reflection on a tragedy in my family history and a VCH ghost story.

(Pictured: 'Hryre' by Nayan Kulkarni, at St John's Ruins, Chester, from a collaborative project.)

I enjoy communicating with wide audiences and give regular public talks and guest lectures. My media work includes BBC Radio, Channel 4, and writing for The Conversation.

Beach Hut

If you follow me on social media, you'll know my favourite place to write - whenever I can manage it - is my beach hut, close to my home in Southbourne, Dorset. I love sharing pictures of the sea through changing weather and seasons. You'll find some more photos in the Gallery below.