Over three sun-drenched summer days in July of 2016, the magical grounds of Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge, England, cast their spell over a group of scholars who had travelled to this ancient seat of learning in order to explore a fascinating and mysterious history. George MacDonald, Victorian fantasist (more…)
The first of two short documentaries filmed and narrated by Kirstin Mills for the BAVS2016 ‘Consuming the Victorians’ conference in Cardiff, Wales. This film traces Kirstin’s footsteps as she travels to Cardiff, Wales and interviews some of the international scholars attending the conference.
The second of two short documentaries filmed and narrated by Kirstin Mills for the BAVS2016 ‘Consuming the Victorians’ conference in Cardiff, Wales. This film traces Kirstin’s footsteps as she travels to and experiences the many and varied aspects of the conference.
What does a week of tea parties, croquet, banquets, and cards, all within the beautiful English gardens of Cambridge University look like? In September 2015, I packed my notebooks, pencils, and my most Alice-in-Wonderlandesque dress into a suitcase and headed for Cambridge to find out. (more…)
In August 2014 I was honoured to travel to the beautiful University of Oxford in England and present my research at The George MacDonald Society 2014 conference, ‘Re-Imagining the Inklings: the Victorian Roots of Modern Fantasy’. I was particularly excited to present at this conference, since it was so closely aligned with the topic of my own research, and the PhD thesis I had only recently completed the year before. The final chapter of that thesis looks at George MacDonald and Lewis Carroll (among other writers), and the ways that their writing engages with Victorian concepts of dreams, alternative states of consciousness, the supernatural, and early ideas of higher-dimensional space. When offered, I jumped at the chance to present these ideas not only among such expert scholars on George MacDonald and Victorian Fantasy, but also at Oxford – that ancient city of literary dreaming, and the home of many of the world’s most beloved authors, including Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) and the Inklings J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) and C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia). (more…)
In September 2015, I packed my notebooks, pencils, and my most Alice-in-Wonderlandesque dress into a suitcase and headed for Cambridge, England. All around the world, exciting events were taking place to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of one of the best loved books of all time – Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – and I was headed to take part in one of the most anticipated events of all: (more…)
Kirstin Mills is an Australian artist, writer, lecturer and researcher following her endless curiosity into realms of imagination and wonder. Read more about her life & projects here.
