M.A., King’s College London and the British Library: “Early Modern English Literature: Books That Matter”
Social Media Officer, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London
The autumn of 2024 has been eventful for Anna. In late November she completed her M.A. degree at King’s College, London, and was awarded the honor “with distinction”. Just three months earlier she began her appointment as Social Media Officer at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
The original Globe, on the south bank of the Thames, opened in 1599 and staged the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, but was demolished in the 1640s. The present Globe – located less than a quarter-mile from the original theatre’s site – opened in 1997 and is a close reconstruction of the original structure. Anna’s present role involves creating engaging content about the various education events and theatrical productions at the Globe. “We post across Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and TikTok to an audience of over 1 million. It’s really exciting to be able to share my knowledge of early modern drama (specifically Shakespeare) in fun and creative ways on social media. Before joining the Globe, I greatly admired the scholars and creatives who worked there for their dedication to social justice, accessibility, and inclusion. Now, I’m delighted to contribute to this work—even if all I’m doing is amplifying the voices on the Globe stage and behind the scenes who are passionately advocating to make Shakespeare accessible for everyone."
Her master’s degree program was taught partly at the British Library. It was a memorable time to be working there, as that institution suffered a major cyberattack in October 2023 from which it is still recovering, one of the realities of the digital age. At the BL, Anna had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with special collection items while learning about book history and manuscript culture, and learned how to decode the meanings of material features of texts, their provenance, and readership. She says “It is a unique program that challenged us to examine and understand – quite literally – every single component of literature.”
Her degree is titled “Early Modern English Literature: Books that Matter” As she notes, “‘Matter’ in the title is a nod to the physical materiality of the texts we study, which makes more sense when considering the number of texts we’ve studied that, historically, have not mattered. We’ve given equal attention to what I like to call ‘the greatest hits of the Renaissance’ and neglected texts which have gone largely unstudied until recently.
“Throughout this last year, I’ve done research that sits at the intersection of history and literature, which fit perfectly with my undergraduate focus as a double History/English major. I edited selections of Katherine Philips’s poetry, which were compiled in a verse miscellany by a woman, who also happened to be named Katherine, that is now kept in the library at St. Paul’s Cathedral. I also worked with a collection of letters relating to a domestic violence trial in England in the late 1500s/early 1600s, looking at these alongside a handful of plays to assess how we might reconsider our understanding of the motivations of literary women who very well could have experienced similar horrors.”
Anna began her love affair with rare books as a student conservator in the archives of San Gemini, a small medieval village located in central Italy. “Under the supervision of professional conservators Manuella Belli, Laura Chignoli, and Nikolas Sarris, I treated and rehoused over 100 books and other paper materials such as a collection of 19th-century workers’ rights posters and 15th- through 20th-century art prints. I also created custom boxes and folders for several items, including an 18th-century volume containing the history of Umbria and the founding of San Gemini (a very important piece of the archival collection). This experience ultimately gave me a solid, practical understanding of the materiality of books, art, and other paper materials – not to mention the basic skills with which to preserve and restore them.
“After my brief stint as an apprentice conservator, I entered the rare book trade as a bookseller and store manager at Second Story Books, the oldest rare and used bookstore in Washington D.C. In addition to my managerial duties, I wrote detailed condition reports for special collection items, researched their provenance, and provided customers with friendly and knowledgeable information regarding the rare books and artwork for sale. I handled a wide variety of items such as an archive of materials relating to the French Revolution, a first edition of Milton’s Paradise Lost, original Goya sketches, fine bindings, manuscript letters written by prominent historical figures such as George Washington and Henry Clay, and numerous other rare books, artwork, and ephemera. Second Story was such a special place, and I was absolutely gutted when I left my job there to move to London for grad school. But having had practical experience working with rare books and archives, I wanted to sort of ‘level up’ my expertise on the subject.”
Anna admits that “To be fully honest, I fell into the world of rare books by accident. When I graduated from undergrad, I applied to every job that was even remotely related to history. Of the hundreds of applications I sent out, I only heard back from maybe three places. One of these places happened to be the conservation apprenticeship in San Gemini. As dramatic as it sounds, that one opportunity changed the course of my life. A career in rare books never crossed my mind, and I had no idea that rare bookselling was a whole industry (highly specialized and concentrated to a handful of areas, but an industry nonetheless).
“What enticed me the most about rare books is that each item feels so special, and there are so many layers to the book’s significance and meaning. Not only do you have the content and significance of the text, but you also have the artistry of the book (binding, illustrations, etc) as well as its provenance (how the book traveled through time). When you consider all of these aspects together, you have a much fuller, intimate understanding of texts. I also think that there is just something so delightful about using the physical material features of texts to understand how they might have been perceived by those who read them.”
Anna cites several valuable insights she obtained in the Department of History at Catholic University. “The department encouraged me to be curious and think critically, which I’ve carried with me over the years. Studying history also sharpened my research and writing skills, especially Dr. Mayhall’s Junior Seminar about WWI Narratives and Dr. Poos’s thesis section centered on England from the Black Death to the Reformation. Many of my professors also strongly discouraged me from jumping straight into grad school after undergrad. At first, I was quite upset and confused by this. Now, however, I’m really grateful to them for advising me as they did. I really appreciate the time I had in between undergrad and my M.A. program, because I was able to explore various opportunities and jobs that lead me to my passion for rare books and special collections. In the end, I did go to grad school, but I probably wouldn’t be enrolled in the particular program that I entered if I hadn't taken time between undergrad and grad school to explore.”
For Anna, digitization has made research much more accessible, convenient, and efficient. “You have to spend less time searching for what you’re looking for and it also saves you time and money that you would spend traveling to view something. From a conservation perspective, digitization also helps preserve special collection items since the more something is handled, the higher its risk of being damaged. I found Early Modern English Books Online an indispensable resource for my dissertation. I had thousands of printed materials with transcriptions, images and search functionality right there at my disposal, any day, any time.”
Her advice to current students thinking about careers? “I would advise them to explore. You never know where life will take you, so seize all opportunities and don’t shy away from things that only seem to be tangentially (or not at all) related to your dream job! At the end of the day, all experience is useful experience! I have acquired so many versatile skills throughout all my experiences, which has enabled me to quickly and easily adapt to various roles. Even when I was working at a coffee shop during undergrad, I learned significant leadership skills, how to work under pressure, and key communication and customer service skills – all of which I’ve carried with me throughout all of my professional experiences since. So be curious and explore every opportunity that comes your way!”