EVENT: Empathy and the Victorian Novel – Centre of Victorian Studies, University of Leicester (Online)

Empathy and the Victorian Novel

Online Event – Centre for Victorian Studies, University of Leicester

Thursday 22 October 2026, 5:00pm – 6:45pm (UK time)

Elaine Auyoung (University of Minnesota) – “George Eliot and the Fragility of Readerly Empathy” 

Suzanne Keen (Scripps College) – “Other-directedness before and after Comte: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Thomas Hardy’s The Woodlanders”

Rachel Ablow (University at Buffalo, SUNY) – “Empathy, Belief, and Martyrdom in John Henry Newman’s Callista” 

Please register for a free ticket here

Organiser: Dr. Doug Battersby (db546@leicester.ac.uk) 

Invitation to submit a report: To celebrate the research shared during “Empathy and the Victorian Novel”, we invite all attendees to submit a report. This can be in any format: a formal report, or a creative response such as a poem. A selection panel will review all submissions: the 5 reports which convey a response to any of the speakers, or to the overall discussion, most effectively and compellingly will be awarded £50 in vouchers, and published on our forthcoming project website to provide a legacy for the event. Your report can suggest ways in which your own research connects with the event, or ways in which your perspective on empathy has shifted as a result of hearing the talks. We are especially keen to encourage postgraduate and early career researchers, but submissions are open to everyone.

Submission Requirements

Length: up to 300 words. 

Format: Word document (.docx), double-spaced, 12pt font.

Deadline: Friday 30 Oct, 2026, 5pm

Please submit your final draft directly to Felicity James fj21@le.ac.uk with the subject line “Empathy and the Victorian Novel: Report Submission”.

This event is part of the AHRC-funded Curiosity project “Empathy, Difficulty, Difference: Creative Curiosity in Practice” led by Dr. Felicity James (University of Leicester), which explores the links between empathy, literature, and healthcare. It is hosted by the Centre for Victorian Studies (CVS), in association with the Literary and Cultural Histories Research and Pedagogy Cluster. You can find out more about the CVS and our upcoming events at le.ac.uk/victorian-studies.