I read English at the University of St Andrews, graduating with a first-class MA (Hons) in 2009. I held piano and organ scholarships throughout my degree, enabling me to continue my musical studies and perform regularly. I received summer funding from the Undergraduate Research Internship Programme to carry out advanced research in Old English poetry and literary theory.
I continued my studies at the University of York, achieving a high distinction in my MA in Renaissance Literature, along with the Philip Brockbank prize for best dissertation. I also received funding from the F. R. Leavis fund and the Herzog August Bibliothek, in order to attend a summer course in Wolfenbüttel, Germany.
I then moved to the USA to enrol in the English Ph.D. program at Princeton University, supported by a graduate fellowship and a semester of funding from the Folger Shakespeare Library. I completed my dissertation and was awarded my doctorate in 2019.
In addition to my degree level study, I completed the six-month novel-writing course with Curtis Brown Creative, and wrote my first novel, a work of literary fiction about a violinist going through a mental health crisis. I have a postgraduate certificate in Psychology from Oxford Brookes University, and I’m a mental health first aider. I have a clear DBS check from November 2025.