That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

(Nietzsche)

Tracey is an expert in eighteenth-century British literature, with a passion for history and philosophy. A firm believer in equality and allowing everyone to succeed.

Tracey Jones was born in North Wales with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a condition that affects all the joints and results in severe mobility problems. During the 1970s, it was not common for disabled children to attend a traditional high school (it is now), but Tracey was too intelligent to go to a non-academic institution. Being placed in a lower-tier class for Literature prevented her from taking Ordinary Level English Literature at 16, as the teacher felt that Shakespeare would be too difficult. In college, she passed her Advanced Level Literature with a little catching up on some of the basics.

She studied law at Essex University and was master of moots (legal debates) and a DJ for two years on student radio. After graduation, she decided not to pursue a career in law but returned home and eventually obtained a job with the Civil Service, where she worked for many years. Promotion from an entry-level job proved elusive. Instead, she developed her academic abilities by studying in the evenings for a degree in literature and then a master's with the Open University. Following redundancy in 2020, she applied to Keele University to study for a Ph.D. in Literature, which she was awarded in 2025.

Her thesis examined emotion in eighteenth-century British Gothic literature and its philosophical context in relation to contemporary thinkers such as Locke, Hume, and Hutcheson. It is estimated that over 200 authors, mainly women, wrote novels at the end of the century, but many are unknown, largely due to the establishment of a traditional male canon. These women often wrote as a route to financial independence, at a time when most occupations were closed to them. The eighteenth century was a period of great change with the birth of the novel (Robinson Crusoe), the development of the domestic novel (Richardson), which encouraged women writers, novels of sensibility (The Sorrows of Young Werther), the gothic novel (The Castle of Otranto), and novels of fantasy (Gulliver’s Travels), along with the assertion of political rights by Wollstonecraft, Paine, and Godwin, following both the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and the French Revolution (1789-99). Driving this increase in novel writing were lending libraries, the Lady’s Magazine, and publishers such as the Minerva Press.

Post pandemic, Tracey has worked on a number of freelance projects, including a short internship with a publishing company in Pakistan and a research company in London. In the 250th year of Jane Austen’s work, Tracey has written a series on the ‘horrid novels’ of Northanger Abbey, showing how they highlight eighteenth-century concerns with women’s rights, the explained supernatural, and secret societies. Currently works as a freelance book reviewer for Indie Reader and has written three works of modern historical fiction. She retains a keen interest in current fiction and the publishing world in general. This includes looking at how modern authors build on and are influenced by what has been written before.

She married her husband 21 years ago in the Chinese Pavilion, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. They both share a love of books, ranging from literature, history, and philosophy to sociology, psychology, and politics. They are both lifelong learners, completing their masters later in life, and Tracey completed her PhD in her fifties, proving you are never too old to learn. Both are supporters of the fight against climate change. They live in North Wales with their two cats, Joplin and Fleur, after having lost Hendrix some years ago.