Robert James Lee (30 October 1959 – 7 February 2010) was an English historian.

Life and work

Born on 30 October 1959, Lee was educated at Thorpe Grammar School. He worked for

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...

after leaving school, but was made redundant in 1995. He quickly decided to return to education, completing an undergraduate degree in English and history at

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

in 1998. He then earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in social history from the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

, where he stayed to complete a doctorate;Matthew Reisz, "Robert Lee, 1959–2010", ''

Times Higher Education Supplement ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'', 25 March 2010, p. 23. his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

was awarded in 2003 for his

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

"Encountering and managing the poor: rural society and the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

clergy in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, 1815–1914". After completing a postdoctoral research position at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

(2003–06), Lee was appointed to a lectureship at the

University of Teesside Teesside University is a public university with its main campus in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire in North East England. It was officially opened as ''Constantine Technical College'' in 1930, before becoming a polytechnic in 1969, and finally g ...

. Lee became ill with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

and died on 7 February 2010, leaving a widow and two sons. The ''

'' said that Lee was a "historian who transformed the study of the English rural poor ... Despite the brevity of his career, he published many papers and three major books in as many years, work that greatly illuminated 19th-century regional history, particularly the relationships between the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, poverty and political resistance." The three books were: ''Unquiet Country: Voices of the Rural Poor 1820–1880'' (2005), ''Rural Society and the Anglican Clergy, 1815–1914: Encountering and Managing the Poor'' (2006), and ''The Church of England and the Durham Coalfield, 1810–1926'' (2007).See reviews by Alan Heesom (''

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

'', vol. 95, no. 320, 2010, pp. 512–513), Quentin Outram (''

Journal of British Studies The publication of the North American Conference on British Studies, ''The Journal of British Studies'' is an academic journal aimed at scholars of British culture from the Middle Ages through the present. The journal was co-founded in 1961 by G ...

'', vol. 49, no. 1, 2010, pp. 202–203), and James Jaffe (''

Journal of Ecclesiastical History ''The Journal of Ecclesiastical History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press. It was established in 1950 and covers all aspects of the history of the Christian Church. It deals with the church bo ...

'', vol. 60, no. 2, 2009, pp. 411–412).

Selected publications

* ''Unquiet Country: Voices of the Rural Poor 1820–1880'' ( Windgather Press, 2005). *
Rural Society and the Anglican Clergy, 1815–1914: Encountering and Managing the Poor
', Studies in Modern British Religious History series (

Boydell Press Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Martlesham, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, editio ...

, 2006). *
The Church of England and the Durham Coalfield, 1810–1926: Clergymen, Capitalists and Colliers
', Regions and Regionalism in History series (

, 2007).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Robert 1959 births 2010 deaths Alumni of Keele University Alumni of the University of Leicester Academics of Teesside University Academics of Durham University British social historians English historians Historians of England People from Thorpe St Andrew