Elly McCausland

Elly McCausland
McCausland in 2025
Born1988 or 1989 (age 36–37)
Cambridge, England
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of York (PhD)
Academic work
DisciplineEnglish literature

Eleanor McCausland (born 1988 or 1989) is an English literary scholar and culinary writer. An associate professor of English literature at Ghent University, she received global media attention in 2023 for teaching courses involving the study of the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's lyrics.

Early life and education

Eleanor McCausland[1] was born in Cambridge[2] between 1988 and 1989.[3] She received a Bachelor's degree in English literature and a Master's in Middle English literature from the University of Oxford, and subsequently a PhD[4] in English literature from the University of York.[5] As a university student, she also became a close friend of fellow student Sushila Phillips and later dedicated an article to her in The Daily Telegraph following her death in 2021.[6] While working as a waitress when she was 17, McCausland was inspired to learn the culinary arts from a co-worker.[3] She became a fan of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift in 2008 with the release of her album Fearless.[7]

Career

While a student at York in 2013, McCausland entered a career as a food columnist at The Press.[3] Her first cookbook[8] The Botanical Kitchen was published in 2020 by Absolute Press and received the Jane Grigson Trust Award prior to its release.[9] The book centres on cooking with botanical ingredients, including fruits, leaves, flowers, and seeds. She later lived in Denmark, but at the time of the book's publication, McCausland was based in Oslo,[8] working as a senior lecturer in English at the University of Oslo.[5] She eventually began working at Ghent University as a specialist in children's literature.[7]

In August 2023, she gained global media attention as an associate professor[10] at the university after it was announced she would be teaching a Masters course on English literature which incorporated the study of the lyrics of Taylor Swift.[4][11][12][13][14][15][16] The course, titled "Literature (Taylor’s Version)", ended up being well received by students, with McCausland lecturing double the amount of students she would usually expect from such a course in literature.[7] In January 2024, McCausland's book Stars Around My Scars: The Annotated Poetry of Taylor Swift was published. This exegesis on Swift's lyrics was praised by Book Riot.[17] McCausland's second book on Swift, Swifterature (2025), borrows from her experiences teaching courses on her lyrics since she started in 2023 and explores the relationship between Swift and English literature.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Front matter". Journal of Victorian Culture. 28 (4). October 2023. ISSN 1355-5502.
  2. ^ De Backer, Julian (1 October 2025). [ENGLISH] Clever Girls - Episode LXIII - Elly McCausland. Archived from the original on 23 February 2026. Retrieved 23 February 2026 – via Apple Podcasts.
  3. ^ a b c Gordon, Maxine (30 March 2013). "Meet our new food columnist Elly McCausland". The Press. Archived from the original on 23 February 2026. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b Dolan, Leah (15 August 2023). ""Swifterature": University launches course to analyze Taylor Swift lyrics". CBS News. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Books and Baking". University of York. 25 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  6. ^ McCausland, Elly (2021-05-19). "'I watched anorexia steal my beloved friend's life'". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  7. ^ a b c Bassi, Margherita (1 December 2023). "How Ghent became a font of Taylor Swift wisdom". The Brussels Times. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  8. ^ a b Taylor, Lauren (1 August 2020). "On my plate: Food writer Elly McCausland on how to add some flower power to your cooking". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  9. ^ Mansfield, Katie (19 March 2019). "McCausland and Saladino win Jane Grigson Trust prize". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  10. ^ a b Williams, Tom (9 November 2025). "It's Me, Hi, I'm the Problem". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  11. ^ "Why an English literature professor is teaching a course on Taylor Swift". CBC.ca. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  12. ^ Kassam, Ashifa (13 August 2023). "Belgian university launches Taylor Swift-inspired literature course". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  13. ^ Frooninckx, Noah (9 August 2023). "UGent biedt nieuw literatuurvak aan met liedjesteksten van... Taylor Swift". De Morgen (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Taylor-made: Belgian university launches Taylor Swift-inspired literature course". The Brussels Times. Belga News Agency. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  15. ^ Pollie, Jan; de Laps, Xavier Vuylsteke (2023-08-09). "UGent-professor geeft vak Engelse literatuur over Taylor Swift: "Ze schreef de beste break-upsong ooit"". VRT NWS (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  16. ^ "Belgian university enters new era with Taylor Swift course". Times of Malta. Agence France-Presse. 2023-08-22. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  17. ^ Jensen, Kelly (3 December 2024). "Your Bookish Swiftie Gift Guide: A Taylor Swift Book for Every Era". Book Riot. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
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