William Blake has been described as a ‘mystic’ artist and author for centuries. This talk, drawing on Dr Marley’s newly published academic research, explores Blake’s reputation as a mystic during and after his lifetime. Firstly, the talk will define what mysticism meant in Blake’s time and what it means now. Dr Marley will detail Blake’s engagement with mysticism during his lifetime, via his connections to spiritual communities and prominent figures within them. She will then dissect Blake’s posthumous mystic reputation, focusing on the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century activities of the Yeats circle.

Dr Marley reinstates the influence of overlooked women’s voices on Blake’s works, including Romantic-era prophets Dorothy Gott and Joanna Southcott. She also emphasise the significance of overlooked women’s and queer receptions of Blake within the Yeats circle, including Fiona Macleod/William Sharp, George Yeats, and Iseult Gonne (daughter of Maud Gonne).

This talk will introduce Blake enthusiasts and scholars alike to exciting new developments in our understanding of Blake’s spirituality and his cultural significance.

Dr Jodie Marley (she/her) is an early-career scholar. She is an incoming 2027 Lendrum Fellow at Durham University and was recently a 2025 Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow. She publishes on Romantic receptions, national Romanticisms, the crossover of literature and visual arts, spiritual cultures, and gender and sexuality. Her monograph William Blake’s Mysticism was published by Palgrave in January 2026.