I grew up on the Surrey-Sussex border, in the area commonly known as The Weald. I
have had a strong passion for history and literature from an early age, and I carried
this through my education at Lanesborough School and Cranleigh School. I studied
English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London for my undergraduate degree,
and achieved the highest final-year average in the process of being awarded First
Class Honours. I then read for an MA in Medieval Studies at the same institution,
which combined historical and literary study, and was again awarded the highest average
mark. I decided to continue my studies, winning an Arts and Humanities Research
Council Scholarship to read for a DPhil in Anglo-Saxon literature at Magdalen College,
Oxford. Whilst reading for my DPhil, I lectured at both Royal Holloway and Oxford.
After graduating in 2016, I decided to pursue a career outside of conventional academia
as a freelance writer.
Chief amongst my current research activities is my first book, Basilisks and Beowulf,
an examination of the role of monsters in Anglo-Saxon culture for Reaktion Books.
I live in a Victorian farmhouse in the Nottinghamshire countryside with my wife,
Martina and infant son Jude, my cats, Humphrey, Fred and Matilda, and dogs, Diggory
the Border Terrier and Wendy the rescued Podenco-Brittany cross. Aside from reading
and writing, my great passions are exploring the countryside, visiting heritage sites,
dog agility, sport and music.
