Holly Kelsall

Biography

I graduated from Staffordshire University in 2011 with first class honours in English literature and Media Studies. I then went on to begin my PhD at Keele University in 2012.

I was attracted to Keele University because of the opportunity to be supervised by Professor Joe Andrew and Dr Elizabeth Poole. I took several research training modules during the early part of my PhD and found them all exceptionally helpful and stimulating and have continued to be impressed by the facilities and support provided by the University.

My PhD thesis focuses on film and television adaptations of Dickens’s novels: Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Bleak House and A Tale of Two Cities, in order to investigate the various ways that Dickens and his work have been re-packaged, recycled, re-formulated and continually represented in popular culture. My research interests include adaptation, film aesthetics, discussions of taste, kitsch and representation.

Research and scholarship

Research project

I look to question the ‘many faces of Dickens’ and how the media has shaped how Dickens is used in popular culture. Dickens and his works are used and signposted in so many ways that even those who are not acquainted with Dickens’s work first-hand, may still often feel familiar with the author and his texts. My research project focuses on the cultural importance and value of film and television adaptations of Dickens’s novels whilst exploring hierarchical taste distinctions between film adaptation and literature. My thesis offers a textual analysis of film and television adaptations of Dickens’s novels: Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Bleak House and A Tale of Two Cities, while considering their abilities to reach new audiences in new ways.

Supervisors: Professor Joe Andrew and Dr Elizabeth Poole

Further information

At Keele University I teach on the MCC core module on ‘Mediated World’ with Dr Lydia Martens. I also work with Cheshire East Council and ‘The Virtual School’ to support disadvantaged students and children in care in their education.

Furthermore, I also work as a Senior Account Manager for Hideaway Media and Time Lapse Systems.

I was also recently appointed the peer review liaison officer for the ‘Under Construction’ journal at Keele University, which is published quarterly.

I am a member of the British Association of Victorian Studies, the North American Victorian Studies Association, the Adaptation Studies Association and the Victorian Popular Fiction Association amongst others.