30/07/2026
Congratulations to Bethany Dark, who has been awarded the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society’s Loughborough University Prize for 2026, presented annually to the best graduating student in English. Bethany was recognised for an outstanding dissertation entitled '𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺: 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘶’𝘴 “𝘐𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺” 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘭’𝘴 “𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯”'.
The award forms part of the Society’s wider programme of support for students at De Montfort University, the University of Leicester, and Loughborough University, where prizes are presented annually for outstanding work in English. These awards are an important element of the Society’s outreach activities, which also include lectures for schools and occasional public events. We are extremely grateful to the students and university staff whose participation, enthusiasm, and support contribute to the continued success of these initiatives.
𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡: Bethany Dark receiving the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society’s Loughborough University Prize for 2026 from Kanti Chhapi, President-Elect of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society.
Bethany’s dissertation examines how Harriet Martineau’s 𝘐𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 and Elizabeth Gaskell’s 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯 offer contrasting responses to the nineteenth-century Condition of England debate, a term coined by Thomas Carlyle to describe the social consequences of industrialisation. Focusing on Martineau’s ‘A Manchester Strike’ and Gaskell’s 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯, it compares their shared depiction of a Manchester workers’ strike to explore the tension between economic theory and emotional empathy. By reading these literary texts (and their Prefaces) alongside contemporary political and economic writings, the dissertation reveals how Martineau’s commitment to political economy and Gaskell’s emphasis on human experience shaped their fiction, while highlighting the enduring relevance of their ideas for contemporary discussions of inequality, economics, and social justice.
