I study how and why literary forms, particularly the novel, evolve. The period in which I specialize, the long eighteenth century (1660-1798), saw the birth of the professional writer, the novel, the newspaper, the magazine and Shakespeare criticism (to name a few innovations) and is therefore a tremendously exciting time for following those questions. Although I focus on the development of the novel as a genre, I also publish on Jane Austen, women writers and non-fictional prose. Currently, I am writing about the intersection of the scientific revolution and the development of point of view in the early novel. In courses such as "The Gothic Novel" and "Jane Austen in Film and Literature," I try to show students not only the most amazing aspects of the period, but also its strong connections with and similarities to our own time.