Contact details
- Name:
- Michael Durrant
- Position:
- Lecturer in Book History
- Institute:
- Institute of English Studies
- Location:
- The Institute of English Studies School of Advanced Study University of London Senate House London WC1E 7HU
- Email address:
- michael.durrant@sas.ac.uk
- Website:
- https://ies.sas.ac.uk/people/dr-michael-durrant
Research Summary and Profile
- Research interests:
- Early Modern, English Literature, History, History of the book, Library
- Regions:
- England, United Kingdom
- Summary of research interests and expertise:
-
Dr Michael Durrant is Lecturer in Book History and Programme Convenor for the MA/MRes in the History of the Book at the Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His research focuses on early modern print culture, with interests in early modern printers, paratexts, and the material and social lives of books. He is the author of The Dreadful Name of Henry Hills: The Lives and Afterlives of a Seventeenth-Century Printer (Manchester University Press, 2026) and has published on early modern material texts, book use, textual transmission, and Shakespeare. Michael is co-editor of the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Book Studies and has worked closely with libraries, archives, and museums on research, teaching, and public engagement, most recently co-curating an exhibition on William Caxton at Senate House Library.
- Publication Details
-
Related publications/articles:
Date Details 31-Mar-2026 The dreadful name of Henry Hills: The lives and afterlives of a seventeenth-century printer Monographs
01-Apr-2025 “I lie with her and she with me” Shakespeare's Sonnets and the Pleasures of Distrust Chapters
In, Early Modern Bonds of Trust: From Shakespeare to Milton, ed. by Joseph Sterrett, Alison Findley, and Helen Wilcox (London: Bloomsbury, 2025)
01-Mar-2025 The Queer Lives of The Life of H.H. (1822, 1688, 1650-51) Journal articles
In Journal of Early Modern Studies, special issue: 'The Politics of Book History: Then and Now', ed. by Zachary Lesser and Georgina WIlson (March, 2025).
01-Sep-2024 The Remedy of Loue (1584): An Unattested Printed Text Found in the Binding of a Chester Court-Book Journal articles
The Library 25:3 (2024), 325-67
01-Sep-2023 The Goddæuses' Dürer-Inspired Trademark: The Meanings, Origins, and Strategic Uses of a Seventeenth-Century Dutch Printer's Device Journal articles
In Book History 26:2 (2023), 274-294
01-May-2023 John Harris: From Stage Business to Page Business Chapters
In The People of Print: Seventeenth Century England, ed. by Rachel Stenner, Kaley Kramer, and Adam James Smith (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023).
01-Sep-2021 Simmel and Shakespeare on Lying and Love Journal articles
In Cultural Sociology 15:3 (2021), 346-363
01-Sep-2020 Old Books, New Beginnings: Recovering Lost Pages Journal articles
In Inscription: The Journal of the Material Text - Theory, Practice, Criticism Issue 1 (2020),
01-Sep-2020 ‘HERSCHEPT HET HERT’: Katherine Sutton’s Experiences (1663), the Printer’s Device and the Making of Devotion Chapters
In People and Piety: Protestant Devotional Identities in Early Modern England, ed. by Elizabeth Clarke and Robert Daniel (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2020)
26-Oct-2018 “Unseen but very evident”: Ghosts, Hauntings, and the Civil War Past Chapters
In From Medievalism to Early-Modernism: Adapting the English Past, ed. by Marina Gerzic and Aidan Norrie (London: Routledge, 2018)
01-Sep-2018 Henry Hills and the Tailor’s Wife Adultery and Hypocrisy in the Archive Chapters
In Forms of Hypocrisy in Early Modern England, ed. by Lucia Nigri and Naya Tsentourou (London and New York: Routledge, 2018)
02-Jan-2018 ‘Who hears or reads of That, shall publish Thee‘: Print, Transmission, and the King’s Book Journal articles
- Research Projects & Supervisions
-
Research projects:
Details The Mount Street Catalogues: Reconstructing a Nineteenth-Century Jesuit Library Available for doctoral supervision: Yes
- Professional Affiliations
-
Professional affiliations:
Name Activity Royal Historical Society - Relevant Events
-
Related events:
Date Details 09-Sep-2026 Lunchtime talk: The English print revolution Public lecture at Westminster Abbey on 15th century Westminster to mark the 550th anniversary of William Caxton bringing the printing press to England.
Held on the second Wednesday of every month at St Margaret’s Church, our Lunchtime Talk series invites visitors to explore different aspects of Westminster Abbey’s rich history. Each talk features expert speakers and unique perspectives, perfect for anyone interested in art, architecture, and heritage.
16-Jun-2026 Micro-Residency: Hand-press printing workshops at The Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent Hand-press printing workshop at Stoke-on-Trent City Archives as part of the centenary celebrations for the city.
09-Jun-2026 Micro-Residency: Hand-press printing workshops at The Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent Hand-press printing workshop at Stoke-on-Trent City Archives to celebrate the centernary of the city.
26-Feb-2026 The English Print Revolution: Caxton and Beyond 04-Feb-2026 At the time of Wright of Derby A salon series Other editing/publishing activities:
Knowledge transfer activities:
Details Shakespeare’s First Folio: A Moving Monument - Consultancy & Media
-
- Available for consultancy:
- Yes
- Media experience:
- Yes