Molly Lewis, Ph.D.

Bio

Molly Lewis received her Ph.D. from Baylor University where she studied clerical interpretations of the religious roles of nineteenth-century poets, and completed an M.S. from the University of Edinburgh where she researched substitutionary mythology in eighteenth-century antiquarianism. Prior to these, she earned a B.A. from Wheaton College, participating in the English department’s first cohort with a writing concentration.

Her scholarship focuses on aesthetic encounters, religious experience and materialism in nineteenth- and twentieth-century British literature. Outside of academia, Dr. Lewis has worked in editing fiction, publishing and communications. Originally from Southern California, she now lives in Portsmouth where she attends St. Paul Catholic Church and cooks, a lot.

Research Interests

Nineteenth-century Religion
Aesthetics
Poetics

Publications

“The Life-Giving Efficacy of Beauty and Desire in Stoppard’s Drama,” Journal of Modern Literature, vol. vol. 46, no. 4, 2023

“Literacy and Preservation in ‘The Death and Burial of Cock Robin’,” Victorians Institute Journal, vol. 49, 2022

“Mark Twain’s Traveler and the Picturesque Aesthetic,” Mark Twain Journal, vol. 60, no. 2, 2022

Affiliations

MLA, CCL, Victorians Institute, NAVSA