Prof Serena Trowbridge
@serena-t.bsky.social
Professor of Pre-Raphaelite Studies, Birmingham City University. Chair, Pre-Raphaelite Society, Senior VP, Birmingham and Midland Institute. Books, art, nature, stone circles, ballet, fresh air. https://serenatrowbridge.substack.com/
Loved the #Whistler exhibition @tate.bsky.social - this is one of the works I particularly liked (although the #Nocturnes are my favourites) #art #notreallypreraphaelitebutsortof serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/james-mcne...
James McNeill Whistler
And a few traces of the Pre-Raphs, obvs
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
Two of May Morris’s plays are being performed for the first time! If you're not already tired of hearing me talk about this, there's more info here serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/may-morris... #preraphaelites #preraphaelitewomen #maymorris
May Morris in Performance
Two plays by May Morris are being performed for the first time!
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
I'm so excited about the forthcoming performances of plays by #MayMorris with fabulous actors - the performances at Kelmscott Manor have already sold out but there will be another one at Wightwick Manor so look out for tickets! Beautiful image by Tara Obaidy #preraphaelitewomen #preraphaelites
It's #DaphneduMaurier birthday today, so to celebrate I'm posting all my reading group notes on her books and short stories. #reading #nationalyearofreading #books serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/reading-da...
Reading Daphne du Maurier
Notes for reading groups
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These writing workshops are run by my lovely friend Anna and have helped so many people to find their writing voice, so if you want to write more, write better, write at all, I thoroughly recommend her! #writing #writingworkshops www.bwriting.co.uk
Today is the #Feastday of #ChristinaRossetti so I thought I'd share something I've been pondering. serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/christina-... #PreRaphaelite #arthistory #PreRaphaeliteWomen #poetry
Christina Rossetti as Artist?
Is this little oil painting 'after Veronese' painted by the poet?
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A happy #PreRaphaelite #Easter! For Christina #Rossetti, there are no chocolate eggs - it's all about the joy of Spring reflecting the #Resurrection. serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/easter-wit...
Easter with the Pre-Raphaelites
Mostly Christina Rossetti, celebrating the season in poetry
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
This morning I got to talk on #Radio4 about #PreRaphaelite artist William Dyce & his painting The Good Shepherd which has been sold. I was asked if religious paintings are going out of fashion; here's my thoughts serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/are-religi... #TheGoodShepherd #Christianity
Are religious Pre-Raphaelite paintings out of fashion?
Dyce's The Good Shepherd sold at auction
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
If you're interested, you can now watch a recording of my inaugural lecture here serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/why-does-p... or link in bio #preraphaelite #birmingham #art #poetry
Why does Pre-Raphaelitism Matter Now?
Recording of my inaugural lecture, March 20th 2026
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#WilliamMorris is always worth celebrating, but especially on his 192nd birthday! #MorrisMonth #PreRaphaelite #poetry serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/happy-birt...
Happy Birthday William Morris!
I’m always happy to celebrate William Morris, and since this is #MorrisMonth and today is his birthday, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to write about him.
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
Celebrating #Pre-Raphaelite women on #InternationalWomensDay - with a bonkers 'network' chart, and a fabulous poem by Jacqueline Saphra serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/celebratin...
Celebrating Pre-Raphaelite Women
Every day, obviously, but especially on International Women's Day
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
It's #WorldBookDay - here's what I'm reading. Eclectic! Also #preraphaelite serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/its-world-...
Why does Pre-Raphaelitism matter now? Well, let these fierce women tell you... serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/why-does-p... #preraphaelite #art #poetry
On March 20th I’m giving my professorial inaugural lecture at the Birmingham Midland Institute, ‘Why does Pre-Raphaelitism matter now?’ All are welcome! www.eventbrite.com/e/1977877529... Or livestream www.eventbrite.com/e/1982061148... #preraphaelite
Professorial Inaugural Lecture: Why does Pre-Raphaelitism matter now?
Birmingham City University invites you to Professor Serena Trowbridge's Inaugural Lecture.
eventbrite.com
Have a pancake with Christina Rossetti! #christinarossetti #pancakes #shrovetuesday #poetry serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/feast-and-...
Feast and Famine: Christina Rossetti celebrates Shrove Tuesday
In her book of poems for children, Sing-Song, Christina Rossetti included a little poem for Shrove Tuesday, ‘Mix a Pancake’, which appeared with an illustration by Arthur Hughes:
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A Pre-Raphaelite painting of a reader. May you all have a peaceful 2026, in a comfortable, warm home with gripping books to read and the time to enjoy them! #preraphaelite #books #nationalyearofreading2026 @preraphaelitesoc.bsky.social serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/the-thrill...
A final #PreRaphaelite #Christmas post: #BurneJones 'The Star of Bethlehem', a suspicious baby and a spot-the-difference... serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/the-star-o...
A #Christmas #WilliamMorris poem, 'The Snow in the Street', set to music by #VaughanWilliams today, with added anecdote about hyenas, lions and donkeys… #preraphaelite @preraphaelitesoc.bsky.social serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/the-snow-i...
The Snow in the Street
And how to celebrate Christmas with the Morrises
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I love Arthur Hughes's Annunciation & Nativity; both paintings focus on intimate moments of Mary’s experience, and both experiences are transcendental. serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/looking-at... #preraphaelite #nativity #christmas #birmingham
Looking at Arthur Hughes' Annunciation and Nativity
Intimate and emotional depictions of Christ's birth
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A short, nostalgic #Christmas #crimefiction novel based on #Cluedo. With bonus Burne-Jones stained glass! #preraphaelite serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/the-christ...
The Christmas Clue: Book Review
Nostalgic Christmas crime and a Pre-Raphaelite mention...
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
Well, I could hardly ignore #JaneAusten birthday. #books #reading #austen ‘The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.’ serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/happy-birt...
Happy birthday, Jane Austen
The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
More explorations in #PreRaphaelite Christmases: a jolly Socialist #Christmas carol from #WilliamMorris! serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/william-mo... (link in bio) @preraphaelitesoc.bsky.social
William Morris's Christmas Carol
Medieval, Socialist, fairly jolly - all very Morris.
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
Celebrating #ChristinaRossetti on her 195th birthday by looking at settings of her poem ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’. serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/in-the-ble... #poetry #choralmusic #preraphaelite #christmas
In the Bleak Midwinter
Celebrating Christina Rossetti on her birthday
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
I always knew poetry was dangerous (in a good way) but now it seems it's dangerous in other ways! Honestly though, would you believe what an AI told you about nuclear secrets?! www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
AI’s safety features can be circumvented with poetry, research finds
Poems containing prompts for harmful content prove effective at duping large language models
theguardian.com
For the first day of Advent, here's a #Preraphaelite Christmas carol. You can even read the music - 'Good Christian Men Rejoice' (although there is no key signature). serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/a-christma... #advent #christmas #music #birmingham @preraphaelitesoc.bsky.social
A Christmas Carol at Bracken Dene
Time to get festive with Arthur Hughes
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Celebrating 140 years of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery by looking at amazing work by Florence Camm, comparing it to #Rossetti and wondering about a tiny homage to Burne-Jones #birmingham #stainedglass #preraphaelite @preraphaelitesoc.bsky.social serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/pre-raphae...
Pre-Raphaelite stained glass: Florence Camm
Dante and Beatrice: The Wedding Feast
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Pre-Raphaelite painter Emma Sandys died on this day in 1877, aged 36. Here's a sneak preview of my research on her, about 'Lady holding a Rose' (Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery) serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/a-mysterio... #preraphaelite #womenartists #birmingham
A mysterious Lady Holding a Rose
I always come back to Emma Sandys!
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More close looking at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery's Pre-Raphaelite works, this time thinking about Alexander Munro's Paolo and Francesca serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/paolo-and-... @preraphaelitesoc.bsky.social #preraphaelite #art #sculpture #dante #nineteenthcentury #birmingham
Paolo and Francesca by Alexander Munro
Preserving a moment in marble
serenatrowbridge.substack.com
Fascinated by this portrait by Joanna Boyce - more thoughts on it here serenatrowbridge.substack.com/p/joanna-boy... #preraphaelite #preraphaelitesisters #portrait
Joanna Boyce's Portrait of Samuel Naylor, 1855
The man who flirted with Goethe's daughter-in-law!
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