Sophie Coulombeau

@sophiecoulombeau

Senior Lecturer in English Literature & Creative Writing. Burneys, book history, 18thc reading habits & naming practices. Novelist. Maker of radio. Mother & carer. Yotam Ottolenghi superfan.

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X Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir sophiecoulombeau.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 8d

We’re quite happy

Two Heritage House Wankers eating a breakfast sandwich on their methodist pew

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 8d

Coffee-guzzling view

Paddock & field in the morning sun, foregrounded by a cawfeee

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 8d

I wake up to this nonsense

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 8d

Our living room accommodates the entire solar system

Happy little girl playing with inflatable planets in a cavernous space

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 8d

So we live in an 1886 methodist chapel now

A happy little family standing in front of their weird cool chapel-house

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 10d

Junk mail here has a different vibe

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 10d

New home, who dis

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 16d

As a book once said, to everything there is a season, and this is the right one for the fam & i to set off on a new adventure. But while the path ahead is exciting, it’s not a path on an actual goddamned roman-medieval wall, and i can’t say i won’t miss that.

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 16d

… only outweighed by grateful. It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to have lived here. Beauty, history, culture, community - york’s got it all. Ever since i first landed here as a wide-eyed student, i’ve never once stopped pinching myself that i got to be here in the heart of it.

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· 16d

We’re moving house next week, a little way out of york. There are excellent reasons for this, and the new house is batshit incredible. Also it still has a York postcode and my job ain’t going anywhere. Nonetheless, the vibe for my last early morning run through york is melancholy/sentimental….

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Jun 19

(Also look, so pretty in print!)

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Jun 5

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Jun 4

48 hours in Paris

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· May 14

That Streeting resignation letter in full:

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· May 14

Finally, we offer a document outlining different ways that MH & PoW's correspondence has been read over time (1831-2024), which we hope will help students to think critically about secondary sources.

Screenshot of first page of document entitled 'Interpretations of the Correspondence Over Time' with the following text.

Literary texts mean different things to different readers, depending on many factors including: their age, their sex and gender; their class and religion; the norms and taboos of the society within which they are living; the people they hope to please or fear offending. The letters between Mary Hamilton and George IV – which can be considered literary constructions as much as historical sources – are no exception.

Here is a selection of the ways that different people and institutions have interpreted the correspondence over two centuries. When reading them, consider:

Who is writing? What can you tell about their sex/gender/class/interests/ relationship to their subjects?
When are they writing, and who are they writing for? What was the society that they lived in like? How might this affect the way they interpret the Mary/George relationship?
What sort of language do they use to describe the Prince, and Mary (or Harriot)? What does this suggest about where their sympathies lie, and how they might view gender/class?

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· May 14

We also offer contextual slides & handouts offering information about MH and the PoW, plus: 1. The Georgian Era: A brief overview 2. Letters in Georgian England 3. Language in Georgian England 4. Class & Relationships in Georgian England 5. Women in Georgian England 6.Reputation in Georgian England

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· May 14

4. Accompanying notes to the letters between Hamilton and the Prince, designed to explain tricky terms 5. Two letters between Mary Hamilton and her pal Charlotte Gunning, which provide an interesting contrast to the way she writes to the Prince - also with accompanying notes

Sample slide from Hamilton / Gunning slides

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· May 14

Here's a taste of what's on offer: 1. Overview of the resources with link to exam board specs 2. Accessible, beautifully illustrated Article in History Today telling the story of MH & PoW 3. Selection of 7 letters between Mary Hamilton and the Prince of Wales (full, or shortened / simplified)

Sample screenshot from 'Overview of the resources with link to exam board specs'

Sample page from History Today article (with thanks to History Today for the relevant permissions!)

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· May 14

Over at @maryhamiltonpapers.bsky.social, we've produced exactly that! Head on over to www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/rese..., fill out a one-minute form, and get instant access to the full set of materials.

Screenshot of webpage with the following text and images of Mary Hamilton and George IV

Teaching and learning materials
Welcome to the teaching and learning materials page for the project 'Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers'. Please read on to find out more about our free, open access materials, which are designed to support the teaching of English Literature, English Language, and English Literature and Language A-levels in all the major exam boards.

In the early summer of 1779, Mary Hamilton was in a sticky situation. The 23-year-old, who was working as governess to three of the daughters of George III and Queen Charlotte, found herself bombarded with dozens of secret love letters from their brother, the 17-year-old Prince of Wales and future George IV. In an age when reputation was everything for a young woman and she had no parent, guardian or workplace support to protect her, the stakes could not be higher; should Hamilton risk offending her current monarchs by too favourable a response to the Prince’s advances, or her future one by rejecting them too forcefully?

Recently academics from the research project Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers have been piecing together the extraordinary correspondence between Mary Hamilton and the Prince of Wales, which offers unique insights into Georgian society, gendered relationships, power structures, language and letters. Now they want to bring Mary Hamilton’s forgotten story into the classroom. In partnership with an educational consultant they have produced a set of resources which introduce A-level students to a seven of the most extraordinary letters, place them in historical context, and offer pointers about how they might help students think about Georgian society, literature and language.

These resources are designed to support the teaching of English Literature, English Language, and English Literature and Language A-levels in all the major exam boards. We hope that they will enrich students’ understanding of …

Screenshot of webpage with following text:

How to use the resources
The resources can be used in a number of ways, for example:

To contextualise students’ reading of Georgian literature, particularly their understanding of Austen’s novels (Mansfield Park, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice. There is also material relevant to the teaching of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre).
To explore in their own right as a Georgian #MeToo narrative, or to use singly as unseen texts for exam practice
To study as examples of eighteenth-century English.
The materials are designed to be as flexible as possible. The slides could be used as a whole teaching sequence, or excerpted to fit into existing teaching. The letters can be taught as a set, or singly. All resources are available both as editable Powerpoint/Word documents and as PDFs.

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· May 14

Calling A-level English teachers! Do you teach Austen, Brontë, or other 18thc stuff? Could you use a set of free research-informed teaching materials, which support students' historical, literary, & linguistic understanding, & foster debate about misogyny, consent, & healthy relationships? (1/?)

Screenshot of a website with text that reads as follows, and an image of a manuscript letter:

Teaching and learning materials
We have produced a set of resources for A-level English teachers. They focus on an extraordinary sequence of letters written between Mary Hamilton - then a governess to the daughters of George III and Queen Charlotte - and the young Prince of Wales, the future George IV.

Using the supporting resources, these letters can be studied as a powerful narrative with modern-day #MeToo echoes, as contextualising support for Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte;'s novels, or as examples of eighteenth-century English.

To access the free resources, please register below (you will only be asked to provide your name, school and email address). You will then be directed to a download page.

Handwritten note from Mary Hamilton Papers
Access teaching and learning materials
To access the free teaching and learning resources for 'Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers' please register here.

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· May 5

Sophie 1-0 Pulmonary embolism Birthday 10k tradition observed (albeit at the gentlest of paces). 42 seems very nice indeed, and i’m feeling more than usually lucky to age up a level.

Photo of a happy running lady who, from the looks of her National Trust baseball cap, is firmly in her forties

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Apr 7

V excited to be delivering this online talk for the wonderful @chawtonhouse.bsky.social on the evening of April 23rd. Book tickets now if you want to hear more about why I think Fanny Knight was the prototype for Sir Walter Elliot! chawtonhouse.org/whats-on/onl...

Screenshot of advert for my talk, featuring images of Fanny Knight, Jane Austen, and an annotated baronetage.

"Visit our digital living room for the first online event connected to HomeMade Histories, with Dr Sophie Coulombeau.
“It Was Fanny Knight, in the Library, with the Baronetage”!

In the first of our digital events connected to our exhibition, HomeMade Histories, Dr Sophie Coulombeau’s case study explores the stories that handmade notes in the margins of books can yield. Ever wondered who was the inspiration for Jane Austen’s Sir Walter Elliot? Find out how notes in the Knight family Baronetage are reshaping our understanding of Jane Austen’s influences, and of her writing timeline."

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Apr 6

... a few hours after attending that GP appointment, I found myself in hospital being tested for pulmonary embolism (blood costs in the lungs). Tests & scans came back rip-roaringly positive for PE - both my lungs are apparently chock full of the fuckers.

Me looking bemused with a canula plugged into my arm

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Feb 20

Reading With The Burneys won a prize!! I’m absolutely made up to have been awarded the Library History Essay Prize by @cilip.bsky.social, the Library & Information Association. Guess i’m not beating those ‘historian in literary scholar’s clothing’ allegations anytime soon…😃

Library History Essay Award 2025
Winner: Sophie Coulombeau, 'Reading with the Burneys: Patronage, Paratext and Performance', Cambridge Elements Series: Eighteenth-Century Connections, (Cambridge: University Press, 2024).

Library History Essay Award 2026
The Library History Essay Award is an annual prize for the best article or chapter on library history published in, or pertaining to, the British Isles, within the previous calendar year (i.e. 2025 ). Introduced in 1996, the award is organized and sponsored by the LIHG and aims to support the publication of research into library history in the British Isles.

The prize is £350.

Submissions should contain original historical research and be based on original source materials if possible. Evidence of methodological and historiographical innovation is particularly welcome.

You might like to see some of the judges' comments:

'The Coulombeau piece has outstanding analysis that moves book and reading history forward in interesting ways'.

'She is an excellent "story-teller" and a "literary detective" ... Her approach is novel - truly interdisciplinary'.

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Feb 18

Totally made to see my brilliant colleague & friend Juliana Mensah recognised as one of the 2026 @newwritingnorth.bsky.social Jerwood Fellows. Can’t think of a more deserving recipient - and can’t wait to read her new novel, follow-up to the amazing Castles From Cobwebs. Congrats to the others too!

Illustration from New Writing North’s insta account, announcing Kym Deyn, Katherine Horrex and J.A. Mensah as Jerwood Fellows

Biographies of the three Jerwood Fellows.

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Feb 17

In happier news: GALETTES.

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Jan 23

Help, I have tumbled down an early-modern-country-dance-tune rabbithole. Tag urself - I'm My Lady Winwood's Maggot.

Catalogue entry listing titles of early modern country dance tunes in the Vaughan-Williams Collection in Rare Books Collection, University of York https://yorsearch.york.ac.uk/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9958383010001381&context=L&vid=44YORK_INST:NUI&lang=en&search_scope=YORK&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=YORK_&query=any,contains,mary%20collier&facet=library,include,1381%E2%80%9313225580001381&offset=0

Text reads:
Set 6. Broom, the bonny, bonny broom - Lady Spellor - Lord of Carnarvon's jig - Lull me beyond thee - The merry, merry milkmaids - The Phoenix - Spring garden - Bobbing Joe - Catching of fleas - The friar and the nun - The Irish lady, or, Aniseed water robin - Irish trot - The new figary - Row well, ye mariners - Sweet Kate - Touch and take.
Set 7. Put on thy smock on a Monday - The gelding of the devil - Oaken leaves - Sellenger's round, or, The beginning of the world - Heartsease - Hit and miss - The boatman - The whirligig - Picking up sticks - Scotch cap - Greenwood - Step stately - Aye me, or, The symphony - Prince Rupert's march - The health, or, The merry wassail - Halfe Hannikin - The collier's daughter, or, The Duke of Rutland's delight - Up goes Ely - Every lad and his lass - Epsom new wells - My lady's courant - Orleans baffled.
Set 8. A trip to Kilburn -- My Lady Winwood's maggot -- The maiden's blush -- Jenny, come tie my cravat -- Mr Isaac's maggot -- The fit's come on me now -- The coronation day -- Lady Banbury's hornpipe -- Chirstchurch bells -- The whim -- Love lies a-bleeding -- Jacob Hall's jig -- The temple change -- The Mary and Dorothy -- Jog on -- The mock hobby horse -- Juice of barley -- Maids' Morris -- Lilli Burlero -- Pool's hole -- King of Poland.

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Jan 10

Of course, if you were a really committed tween fan back in the 90s, you just pirated your own Calvin & Hobbes, erm… bin

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Jan 6

Sophie Coulombeau@sophiecoulombeau· Jan 3

As I make my way sweating & cursing through an archive of the worst 18thc handwriting I’ve ever had to deal with… it’s nice to find a cheeky epigram from one of my subject’s mates indicating that they had trouble too