Biography
Susan E. Whyman
Historian of Early Modern Britain
Dr. Susan E. Whyman is a social and cultural historian of British life in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in British and Colonial American history from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and an M.L.S. in Library and Information Science from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
She is interested in bringing history to life by revealing voices of people in the past. Her work explores everyday life, literacy, social networks, and social mobility in early modern Britain. Whyman’s publications offer new perspectives on how ordinary people, often without formal education, shaped historical change. She returned to the academic world after a career that included publishing, editing, and work in archives—experiences that inform and enrich her historical writing.
A fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Whyman is the author of 4 acclaimed books published by Oxford University Press’
- Sociability and Power in the Late Stuart England: The Cultural Worlds of the Verneys 1660-1720 (1999), nominated for the 2000 LONGMAN HISTORY TODAY PRIZE.
- The Pen and the People: English Letter Writers 1660-1800 (2009), winner of the 2010 MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION PRIZE.
- Walking the Streets of Eighteenth-Century London: John Gay’s Trivia (1717) (2007), co-edited with Clare Brant (all published by Oxford University Press).
- The Useful Knowledge of William Hutton: Culture and Industry in Eighteenth-Century Birmingham (2018).
From the 1990s, Whyman lived and worked in the US and the UK. Her life in Britain started as a visiting scholar at Wadham College, Oxford, where she wrote her thesis on the Verney letters. In both countries, Whyman built international networks and mentored UK and US undergraduates, mature students, women, and minorities. She was also active in the Institute for Historical Research, the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, the North American Conference on British Studies, the American Historical Association, and the American Library Association.
Whyman has been a visiting scholar at Wadham College, Oxford and the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. She served on the executive committee of the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Whyman lectures and publishes widely, both in England and the U.S., on letters and British culture
In conjunction with her academic work, she has become a well-known advocate for higher education and social justice in New Jersey, serving Brookdale Community College as a former Trustee, present Vice President of its Foundation, sponsor of the Whyman Center for Transformative Learning, and most importantly, founder of the Frank Whyman Scholarship program for immigrant students. At present, there are 16 Whyman scholars, who not only study, but work full time, help their families and volunteer in the community. Their graduations are Whyman’s favorite days of the year.
BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS
The Useful Knowledge of William Hutton: Culture and Industry in Eighteenth-Century Birmingham
Sociability and Power in Late-Stuart England: The Cultural Worlds of the Verneys 1660-1720
