Helen Berry (born 11 December 1969) is a British historian and Professor of British History at the University of Exeter. She specialises in British history in a global context between 1660 and 1800, with particular interests in social, cultural and economic history, the history of gender and sexuality, the family, the rise of the mass media and coffee house culture.
Education
Berry read history at
Durham University
Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
from 1989 to 1992. She was president of the Durham Union for
Easter term
Easter term is the summer term at the University of Cambridge, University of Wales, Lampeter, University of Durham, and formerly University of Newcastle upon Tyne (before 2004Jesus College,
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
1995–1998, where she wrote a thesis on the history of coffee houses and the earliest London newspapers. In 2000 she was awarded the
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...
Alexander Prize for the paper ‘Rethinking Politeness in Eighteenth-Century England: Moll King’s Coffee House and the Significance of Flash Talk’ based on her thesis
Career and research
Following her PhD, Berry was a postdoctoral fellow at the
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...
(September 1998 – July 1999), and a postdoctoral researcher at
Northumbria University
Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumbria at Newcastle) is a Public research university, public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, North East of England. It has been a university since 199 ...
(July 1999 – September 2000), before taking up a lectureship in history at Newcastle University in September 2000. She was promoted to professor in June 2012. She has also held visiting professorship positions at the Harry Ransom Humanities Library,
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
, and the
Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United State ...
, San Marina California.
She is a former dean of postgraduate studies (2015–2018) and acting pro-vice chancellor (2018), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Newcastle University. From February 2019 - September 2020 she was head of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Newcastle, before moving to the University of Exeter where she is currently Head of History. She is also adjunct assistant professor at IUPUI Department of History, IU School of Liberal Arts.
Her research covers a wide range of themes, from the history of how a new kind of consumer society emerged in Britain during the eighteenth century, to how global trade and economics shaped personal experiences, families and communities. She also has interests in the history of the mass media from the late-seventeenth century onwards; coffee house sociability and politeness; the history of gender and sexuality, particularly in the shifting definitions of marriage over time. Her book, The Castrato and His Wife ' (published by
OUP
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
in 2011) explores the impact of Italian culture in the British Isles. Her most recent book, ''Orphans of Empire: the Fate of London's Foundlings nowiki>'' (published by OUP in 2019) examines the connection between philanthropy, child welfare and the socio-economic development of Britain in an era of colonial expansion. The book featured on
Dan Snow
Daniel Robert Snow (born 3 December 1978) is a British Popular history, popular historian and television presenter. He is an ambassador of the Electoral Reform Society (ERS).
Early life and education
Born in Westminster, London Dan Snow is the ...
’s History Hit podcast in May 2019.
Berry has presented for the BBC, including a feature on BBC1's Inside/Out programme about the archaeologist, explorer and diplomat
Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly inf ...
.
Awards and honours
She is a Fellow of the
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...
, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Her book ''The Castrato and his Wife'' was featured as Book of the Week on Radio 4
Her book ''Orphans of Empire'' was shortlisted for the 2019 Cundill History Prize.