Erica Canela is an early modern social historian whose work explores trauma, dissent, and marginalisation in seventeenth-century England. Her research brings together archival investigation, narrative analysis, and the study of radical religious movements to illuminate how ordinary people navigated spiritual conviction, persecution, and the politics of survival.
Her first book, Zealous: A Darker Side of the Early Quakers, examines the lived experience of the earliest Quakers in the English counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, tracing the emotional and political worlds of those who dared to challenge the status quo during the Interregnum and Restoration.
Erica is committed to her work in public history and regularly contributes to podcasts, festivals, and public events. Her current projects include developing immersive historical storytelling formats and expanding collaborative research on trauma and dissenting communities.