Penelope J Corfield – eighteenth – and nineteenth-century British history

Penelope J. Corfield is a London-based historian, who specialises in eighteenth – and nineteenth-century British history, whilst simultaneously exploring long-term patterns in global history

She has lectured and held Visiting Fellowships in many different countries; and from 2019-2023 she was President of the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

Her publications include numerous essays and several well-received books, such as Power and the Professions in Britain, 1700-1850 (1995), Time and the Shape of History (2007); The Georgians: The Deeds & Misdeeds of Eighteenth-Century Britain (2022; paperback 2023); and, with Tim Hitchcock, Becoming a Historian: An Informal Guide (2022).

Penelope Corfield served as President of the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (2008-10). She was then elected as Vice-President of the International Society of the same name (2011-19), before becoming its President.

Since 2015, Penelope has also been an elected Member of the Academia Europaea/ Academy of Europe. She is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and one of the founder members of the International Big History Association.

Education and academic career

Her education was provided within the British state system, attending in the 1950s Chislehurst & Sidcup County Grammar School for Girls; now Chislehurst School for Girls (Kent). After that, she studied for a History degree, getting a First at St Hilda’s College, Oxford; and she completed her doctorate at the London School of Economics.

Penelope then pursued her academic career in London University, firstly at Bedford College and then at Royal Holloway (with which Bedford merged in the mid-1980s). She is now an Emeritus Professor, attached to the History Department of Royal Holloway. She was also a Visiting Fellow at Newcastle University’s Humanities Research Institute (2016-19), in connection with her role on the steering committee for the AHRC-funded research project ‘Eighteenth-Century Political Participation and Electoral Culture’ (directed by Prof. Matthew Grenby). Her research interests in this developing field are conveyed in her Lecture on ‘Proto-Democracy’.

At various times, Penelope has held Visiting Professorships in Australia, Hungary and Japan, as well as Visiting Fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and at the University of Oxford (Nuffield College; All Souls College). In addition, she has taught courses in British history for the Yale-in-London programme; and, throughout her career, she has given many lectures to history societies, student groups, and academic gatherings around the world. One stimulating visit among many was her trip to New Delhi in February 2018, to attend the second annual Conference of the newly-launched India-International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (I-ISECS): the excitement of the gathering was joyous.

History of social dynamics

One of her key interests is the history of social dynamics – which includes both continuities and change in the ways that people greet one another.

Lastly, her recreations include: gardening, reading, debating, swimming, listening to Beethoven, stroking cats, and green-travelling. And by temperament, she is an optimist.

Furhter details of her career and her intellectual interests can be found in her personal website: www.penelopejcorfield.com; and on the Georgian Witnesses website: www.thegeorgiansdeedsandmisdeeds.com/.