Dr Henry Miller

History of Parliament Research

Since joining the History of Parliament’s House of Commons, 1832-68 project in 2009, I have mostly researched and written pieces on the English Midlands and Scotland. In addition, I am the section’s Visual Resources Officer, with the responsibility of locating and, where possible, obtaining scans of portraits of MPs, election scenes and other political images.

Research and Publications

My main interests are nineteenth century politics and culture in Britain. I am currently writing a book about the visual culture of Victorian politics, analysing how photographs, portraits, cartoons and paintings shaped public perceptions of politics and politicians. I am also increasingly interested in the popular debates about tax, money, welfare and trade, c. 1800-70. My publications and papers include:

- ‘Popular petitioning and the corn laws, 1833-46?, English Historical Review, 127 (2012), pp. 882-919.

- ‘Radicals, tories or monomaniacs?: The Birmingham currency reformers in the House of Commons, 1832-67?, Parliamentary History (2012, forthcoming).

- ‘The problem with Punch‘, Historical Research, 82 (2009), 285-302.

- ‘John Leech and the Victorian cartoon: the context of respectability’, Victorian Periodicals Review, 42 (2009), 267-91.

- ‘ “Agitate, agitate, agitate”: the publishing career of Joseph Livesey (1794-1884)’, Politics and the Power of Print conference, Chetham’s Library, Manchester, 30 Nov. 2012