As an Emeritus Professor of Gender Education, Christine Skelton, continues to apply her research specialism in gender and masculinity to the lives of women in the Victorian era, specifically those associated with the novelist Charles Dickens. Her book, Charles Dickens and Georgina Hogarth: A curious and enduring relationship was published in 2023 by Manchester University Press. She has since given talks to, amongst others, the Charles Dickens Museum in London and York Festival of Ideas (such as ‘Unsettling Sisters’; ‘Dickens, Georgina and their Servants’) and produced articles and blogs on the topic.
During her career, Christine’s research was in the fields of; gender in relation to the professional socialisation of primary school teachers; and gender, masculinity and schooling. She has written and edited major books in these areas for example: The Identities and Practices of High Achieving Pupils (with Becky Francis and Barbara Read); Feminism and ‘The Schooling Scandal’ (with Becky Francis); and Schooling the Boys: Masculinities and Primary Education. In her current research field she has published several articles including: ‘Mamie Dickens: The Later Years’; ‘The Wing of Friendship’; ‘A Margate connection: Georgina Hogarth and Ellen Ternan’.