Diane Purkiss (born 30 June 1961) is Fellow and Tutor of English at

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. She specialises in Renaissance and women's literature, witchcraft and the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

. Purkiss was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, and was educated at

Roseville College , motto_translation = Truth Conquers All , established = 1908 , type = Independent, single-sex, day school , denomination = Anglican , slogan = , principal = Deb Magill , city = Rosevil ...

, Our Lady of the Rosary Convent, and

Stuartholme School , motto_translation = One Heart , established = , founder = Archbishop James Duhig , type = Independent secondary day and boarding school , gender = Girls , religion = Catholicism , denomination = Society of the Sacred ...

. She received a BA with first class Honours from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

and D.Phil. from

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

. She became lecturer in English at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

in 1991, and lecturer in English at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

in 1993. In 1998 she became Professor of English at

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public ...

, before taking up her current post at

in 2000.

Publications

As author: * ''The Witch in History: Early Modern and Late Twentieth Century Representations'' (

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

, 1996) * ''Troublesome Things: a history of fairies and fairy stories'' (

Allen Lane Sir Allen Lane (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fict ...

, 2000) * ''Literature, Gender, and Politics during the English Civil War'' (

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

, 2005) * ''The English Civil War: A People's History'' (

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

, 2006). As editor: * ''Women, Texts and Histories 1575-1760'' (

, 1992), with Clare Brant * ''Renaissance Women: Elizabeth Cary's Tragedie of Mariam and Edward II and Aemilia Lanyer's Salve Deus Rex Judaorum'' ( William Pickering, 1994) * ''Three Tragedies by Renaissance Women'', an edition of

Iphigeneia at Aulis ''Iphigenia in Aulis'' or ''Iphigenia at Aulis'' ( grc, Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Αὐλίδι, Īphigéneia en Aulídi; variously translated, including the Latin ''Iphigenia in Aulide'') is the last of the extant works by the playwright Euripide ...

, by Lady

Jane Lumley Jane Lumley, Baroness Lumley ( Lady Jane Fitzalan; 1537 – 27 July 1578), sometimes called Joanna, was an English noblewoman. She was the first person to translate Euripides into English. Life and family Jane is the eldest child of three sibli ...

The Tragedie of Antonie ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, by Lady Mary Sidney,

The Tragedy of Mariam ''The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry'' is a Jacobean-era drama written by Elizabeth Cary, Viscountess Falkland, and first published in 1613. There is some speculation that Cary may have written a play before ''The Tragedy of Mari ...

, by Elizabeth Cary, Viscountess Falkland (

Penguin Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...

, 1998) Purkiss also wrote children's books with her daughter, Alice Druitt, under the pseudonym

Tobias Druitt Tobias Druitt is an author of fantasy novels. Tobias Druitt is the pseudonym of two authors who write together, Diane Purkiss and Michael Dowling. Diane Purkiss is a tutor in English at Keble College, Oxford University, and she is the first Oxfor ...

External links

Keble College webpage for Diane Purkiss
1961 births Living people University of Queensland alumni Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Academics of the University of East Anglia Academics of the University of Exeter Academics of the University of Reading British literary historians Fellows of Keble College, Oxford {{UK-academic-bio-stub