Ruth Robbins is Professor of English Literature and head of the School of Cultural Studies and Humanities. Her work has focused on the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, on autobiography, on literary theory and on particular writers such as Oscar Wilde and Arnold Bennett.

Ruth's research interests centre on the late-Victorian period in English literature, especially the literature of Decadence, and include the writings of Oscar Wilde, Arthur Symons and Vernon Lee - her book Pater to Forster, 1873-1924 (2003) deals with literature written in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century period. Her recent book Oscar Wilde (2011) revisits her interests in the fin de siècle; additionally she is co-author of a book on the British Short Story (with Emma Liggins and Andrew Maunder, 2010).

She also has research interests in literary theory