I studied Classics (ancient Greek and Roman history and literature) at the University of Oxford, emerging in 2013 with a doctorate on the Roman historian Tacitus. In the process, I also spent a year as an exchange student in Paris and was also, at various times, a freelance translator, language editor, restaurant blogger and unpublished novelist.
In 2015 I moved to Brussels, where I currently work in EU communications. I am fascinated by how history is being used and abused in the turbulent times in which we live, and I am writing a book called 'In Search of Rome: Adventures in Ancient and Modern History', a literary memoir that follows my journey in Classics, from reading the Iliad in the original Greek to writing about Roman history – and also depicts the gradual realisation that ancient history can offer new perspectives on the modern world, not least Brexit.
As an academic, I have given conference papers on a variety of topics, from Tacitus' description of the ancient Germans to Classical themes in the work of Simone de Beauvoir. More recently, I have been a guest on the high-profile Brexit podcast CakeWatch, talking about the role of ancient history and education in current political debates.