#146: Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, academic and author

<p>Simon and Rachel speak with the academic and author <a href="https://www.magd.ox.ac.uk/people/professor-robert-douglas-fairhurst/" target="_blank">Robert Douglas-Fairhurst</a>. After undergraduate studies and a PhD at Cambridge, Robert moved to Oxford in 2002, where he is a professor of English Literature and a fellow of Magdalen College. His previous books include "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/07/becoming-charles-dickens-life-reviews" target="_blank">Becoming Dickens: The Invention of a Novelist</a>", which won the Duff Cooper Prize for biography in 2011; "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/books/review/the-story-of-alice-lewis-carroll-and-the-secret-history-of-wonderland.html" target="_blank">The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland</a>" in 2015, which was shortlisted for the Costa Prize, and most recently "<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/152331f0-f0f6-4665-b784-4421106e826e" target="_blank">The Turning Point: A Year that Changed Dickens and the World</a>" (2021). Robert has edited editions of Charles Dickens, Charles Kingsley and J.M. Barrie, and is a regular contributor to the <em>Times</em>, <em>Guardian</em>, <em>Spectator</em>, <em>Literary Review</em>, <em>New Statesman</em> and <em>TLS</em>. He has worked as a historical advisor on BBC adaptations of "Jane Eyre" (2006), "Emma" (2009) and "Great Expectations" (2011); acted as a consultant to the "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enola_Holmes_(film)" target="_blank">Enola Holmes</a>" film franchise; and served as a judge for the Man Booker and Baillie Gifford prizes. We spoke to Robert about combining an academic career with writing for a wider audience, his biographies of Charles Dickens and Lewis Carroll, and his upcoming book "<a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/452971/metamorphosis-by-douglas-fairhurst-robert/9781787334250" target="_blank">Metamorphosis</a>."</p> <p>You can find us online at <a href="http://alwaystakenotes.com/" target="_blank">alwaystakenotes.com</a>, on T