Dr Claire Nicholson

I have been enjoying my role as a Course Director at PACE for almost a decade now. My career began in schools and Further Education Colleges in Bristol, but since moving to Cambridge in the early 1990s I have worked in university education, specialising in English Literature especially twentieth century fiction. I am also an enthusiastic costume historian and combined my two major interests of clothes and fiction in my doctoral thesis In Woolf’s Clothing, which examines the role of clothes in the novels of Virginia Woolf. It is currently being prepared for publication next year. In the late 1990s I studied for a Masters Degree in Women’s Studies, which fired up my enthusiastic interest in Virginia Woolf and in 2018 I was elected Chair of the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain. I really enjoy introducing students to Woolf and other twentieth century writers, which I have done in a variety of contexts including literary festivals, the National Trust, the British Library, BBC Wales and various arts societies. I contribute articles to publications in the UK and USA on topics ranging from literature to social history and feminism. 

PACE offers me the perfect opportunity to share my interests in a lively and stimulating context. My teaching style is informal and inclusive, encouraging you to share your thoughts on the work we study in a supportive atmosphere. I look forward to meeting you!