Marilyn Mallia graduated with a PhD in Modern Languages (French Studies) from the University of Southampton.

Her thesis analyses the importance of the English gothic novel in the early novels of 19th-century French writer George Sand. By linking Sand to cross-channel writers such as Ann Radcliffe and Matthew Lewis, Mallia’s study emphasises Sand’s permeability to European traditions.

Mallia, in collaboration with a computer scientist, has developed an interactive web-based tool which maps out the itinerary of the gothic heroine and which illustrates the intertextual dimensions of Sand’s novels Consuelo and La Comtesse de Rudolstadt.

This tool, which can be accessed at www.gothicconsuelo.appspot.com, can be adapted to various educational settings and levels – the potential student user would be able to explore the key sequences of Sand’s novel as mapped on a spiral progression and explore links to English gothic intertexts.

Mallia was sponsored by Steps, part-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) under Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, ‘Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life’.