Sophie Gee is a professor in Princeton's English Department. She's also Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Sydney, where she’s engaged in building the public value of the humanities. She's the author of scholarly monographs about the rise of the novel and the history of waste in the eighteenth century, as well as a historical novel rewriting the 18thC poem "The Rape of the Lock" as a comedy of manners. This was widely translated and named as a best book of the year and Sophie speaks regularly about humanities and writing at literary festivals worldwide. She co-hosts the Secret Life of Books, a popular podcast about classic books. She’s written regularly for The New York Times, the TLS, the Washington Post and the Sydney Morning Herald, among places. She’s held fellowships at Yale and UCLA and her new work is on the value and importance of public humanities.

I've often followed my instincts when choosing projects, and these have sometimes seemed strange or out of step with peers. But this has proven crucial. So long as you work rigorously, I think it's crucial to be led by deep and changing interests, instincts and glints in the eye, because these can generate the most exciting and broadly appealing work. While I've worked with passion and dedication, my career hasn't been conventional or rule-abiding.