Summary of the impact

D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) has been widely known for his contributions to the modernist novel and short story whereas his interest in music has received relatively little attention. As a writer and painter he worked in different media as well as literary genres. The underpinning research has established the extent to which music influenced Lawrence's aesthetic development. This research has inspired new musical collaborations and compositions (notably William Neil's Where There is no Autumn), leading to public performances, recordings, a webinar, multi-media dissemination and a successful Royal Music Association event at the University of Hull.

Summary of the impact

Making a major contribution to English recovery research in the Unit, work associated with this case study has brought to a wider public:

1) the works of writers whose livelihoods were principally earned through manual labour or craft skills;

2) radical and neglected writing across a range of periods, genres and cultural contexts.

This has led to impact through enhancement of public understanding of literary and cultural value.

Underpinning research began in 1994; subsequently three principal routes to impact have evolved:

1) the development of open access online resources, in particular, `Labouring-Class Poets Online';

2) NTU publishing imprint, Trent Editions, which combines scholarly research with dissemination of neglected radical writing;

3) engagement with literary societies and related organizations.

Summary of the impact

Bradford's exploration of the lives of modern British writers demonstrates how research can cross over into audiences beyond specialist academic markets. The impact of his research lies in:

• providing the ordinary reader with ground breaking insights into key modern British and Irish writers;
• offering reinterpretations, new understandings, and critical debate surrounding these writers, thereby contributing to a reframing of such writers in the public eye, with particular reference to the controversial aspects of the modern novel;
• his popular reception as a biographer stimulating collaborations with creative industries and providing meaningful commercial sustenance for the independent publishing sector.

Summary of the impact

Editorial and biographical research on the work of Virginia Woolf, carried out primarily by Susan Sellers, fed directly into the composition of Vanessa and Virginia, a novel by Sellers about Woolf's relationship with her sister. In 2008 Vanessa and Virginia was published by a small independent publisher set up in 2006 in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. It became the press's most commercially successful publication and ensured its early economic viability. The novel was subsequently published in North America and translated into more than a dozen languages. It was also turned into a successful, inter-nationally-staged play. This case study therefore claims several types of impact: (1) exporting the cultural heritage of the UK and stimulating international public interest in Woolf; (2) generating economic prosperity for a small entrepreneurial business in a remote part of Scotland, and for the creative industries (theatre and international publishing) more widely; (3) inspiring and facilitating the work of other cultural practitioners; (4) enriching cultural life in the UK and abroad. The users of this research are: the directors of an independent publishing company; translators and international publishing houses; the director, producer and actors of a touring theatre company; the reading and theatre-going public.

Summary of the impact

Paul Farley's book Edgelands, co-authored with Michael Symmons Roberts, has changed attitudes to landscape in both cultural and utilitarian senses. Winner of the `Foyles Best Book of Ideas' Prize for 2012, Edgelands was extensively reviewed upon publication and its capacity for changing perceptions was widely remarked upon. Beyond its print and digital dissemination, it became a broadcast topic, both as an adaptation for BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week and also as a news feature on programmes such as BBC Radio 4's The Today Programme. As well as becoming a set text on many academic reading lists, Edgelands has influenced curatorial practice in the visual arts, opinion and policymaking bodies, practical approaches to engagement with landscape and also promoted widespread debate and active awareness at the grass roots level of weblogs and online journals. The book is part of a much wider body of research and writing on cognate subjects by Farley that includes award-winning collections of poetry and high-profile radio broadcasts. However, Edgelands is focused upon here as a concrete example of how a single publication can have a significant and wide-ranging impact.

Summary of the impact

Dr Paul McDonald is an award-winning writer whose comic novels, short stories, and poetry have established him as a leading figure in the literature of the Black Country. His creative output is informed by scholarly research into humour and humour-writing that has national and international reach, and has contributed to the public knowledge of the history and cultural significance of humour. Specifically, he has:

• benefited economic prosperity through media commissions in the creative sector (e.g. via promotion, sales, and web traffic);
• contributed to creating, inspiring, and supporting the cultural life of the West Midlands.

Summary of the impact

Northumbria University's research on the eighteenth-century novelist Laurence Sterne and on the literary significance of the Delaval family has had benefits for two arts and cultural organisations in the North East and Yorkshire. The research has secured new audiences and increased business activity and footfall for the Laurence Sterne Trust (LST), changed the emphasis of heritage interpretation at Seaton Delaval Hall (SDH) and expanded the range of activities offered by both organisations. We have developed long-term and sustainable relationships with both of our partners and are now co-designing collaborative projects with them.

Summary of the impact

This study outlines the ways in which Alexandra Harris, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Liverpool, has engaged public interest in modern British art and literature.
Harris has demonstrably encouraged both art-world professionals and members of the public to appreciate more fully the rich variety of modern British art, and to realise its contemporary relevance in exploring British landscapes and identities. Between September 2010 and July 2013, her books, radio programmes, literary festival appearances, and collaborations with art galleries have had a major impact on cultural life. They have helped to raise the profile of British painting, and brought diverse audiences to challenging literature (especially the work of Virginia Woolf). They have heightened public consciousness of the ways in which contemporary debates and indeed the habits of daily life can be informed by cultural history, giving `the long view' on national identity, notions of `home' and tradition, and particularly the potent relationships between art and place.