Lisa specializes in British Literature of the eighteenth-century. She trained at Melbourne and Brown universities and has held fellowships at various international English departments including Johns Hopkins University and the Free University Berlin.
Her research interests include the history of the novel, marriage plots, sentimental fiction, gothic fiction, theories of enlightenment and secularization and early global literatures.
Lisa has published on topics including the English marriage plot, libertinism, popular anthropology, travel narrative, settler fiction and courtesan memoirs. Her Australian Research Council-funded Discovery Projects include 'Secularisation and British Literature, 1600-1800' and 'The Cultural Impact of Irregular Marriage in the Age of British Colonialism'.
Her most recent book, The Origins of the English Marriage Plot: Literature, Politics and Religion in the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge UP, 2019), offers a new account of why and how marriage became central to the English novel.
She is currently Associate Professor of English Literature in the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University. Her most recent work is on the history and theory of the novel and its relation to early global literatures.
Journal Article: Before Frankenstein: Therese Huber and the antipodean emergence of political fiction
O'Connell, Lisa (2020). Before Frankenstein: Therese Huber and the antipodean emergence of political fiction. Postcolonial Studies, 23 (3), 348-359. doi: 10.1080/13688790.2020.1802113
Journal Article: Catalysts of change: colonial transformations of Anglo-European literary culture in the long eighteenth century
O'Connell, Lisa and Wawrzinek, Jennifer (2020). Catalysts of change: colonial transformations of Anglo-European literary culture in the long eighteenth century. Postcolonial Studies, 23 (3), 257-267. doi: 10.1080/13688790.2020.1809068
O'Connell, Lisa (2019). The origins of the English marriage plot : literature, politics and religion in the eighteenth century. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108757706
Book Chapter: The libertine, the rake, and the dandy: personae, styles, and affects
O'Connell, Lisa (2014). The libertine, the rake, and the dandy: personae, styles, and affects. The Cambridge History of Gay and Lesbian Literature. (pp. 218-238) edited by E. L. McCallum and Mikko Tuhkanen. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CHO9781139547376.015
Secularization and British Literature, 1600-1800
(2013–2015) ARC Discovery Projects
The Cultural Impact of Irregular Marriage in the Age of British Colonialism, 1660-c.1860.
(2003–2005) ARC Discovery Projects
Benevolence and Thomas Pringle: pilot study for a larger programme on benevolence and empire
(2002) University of Queensland Research Development Grants Scheme
(2024) Doctor Philosophy
(2016) Master Philosophy
The Virtue of Gentlemanly Aggression in Tom Jones
(2013) Master Philosophy
Before Frankenstein: Therese Huber and the antipodean emergence of political fiction
O'Connell, Lisa (2020). Before Frankenstein: Therese Huber and the antipodean emergence of political fiction. Postcolonial Studies, 23 (3), 348-359. doi: 10.1080/13688790.2020.1802113
O'Connell, Lisa and Wawrzinek, Jennifer (2020). Catalysts of change: colonial transformations of Anglo-European literary culture in the long eighteenth century. Postcolonial Studies, 23 (3), 257-267. doi: 10.1080/13688790.2020.1809068
O'Connell, Lisa (2019). The origins of the English marriage plot : literature, politics and religion in the eighteenth century. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108757706
The libertine, the rake, and the dandy: personae, styles, and affects
O'Connell, Lisa (2014). The libertine, the rake, and the dandy: personae, styles, and affects. The Cambridge History of Gay and Lesbian Literature. (pp. 218-238) edited by E. L. McCallum and Mikko Tuhkanen. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CHO9781139547376.015
O'Connell, Lisa (2019). The origins of the English marriage plot : literature, politics and religion in the eighteenth century. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108757706
Libertine enlightenment: sex liberty and licence in the eighteenth century
Cryle, Peter and O'Connell, Lisa (2003). Libertine enlightenment: sex liberty and licence in the eighteenth century. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230522817
Sensible distances: the colonial projections of Therese Huber and E. G. Wakefield
O’Connell, Lisa (2021). Sensible distances: the colonial projections of Therese Huber and E. G. Wakefield. Matters of engagement: emotions, identity, and cultural contact in the premodern world. (pp. 216-230) edited by Daniela Hacke, Claudia Jarzebowski and Hannes Ziegler. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429488689-14
O'Connell, Lisa (2017). Nationalism. Samuel Richardson in context. (pp. 319-326) edited by Peter Sabor and Betty A. Schellenberg. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781316576755.039
The libertine, the rake, and the dandy: personae, styles, and affects
O'Connell, Lisa (2014). The libertine, the rake, and the dandy: personae, styles, and affects. The Cambridge History of Gay and Lesbian Literature. (pp. 218-238) edited by E. L. McCallum and Mikko Tuhkanen. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CHO9781139547376.015
Settler colonialism, utility, romance: E. G. Wakefield’s letter from Sydney
O'Connell, Lisa (2008). Settler colonialism, utility, romance: E. G. Wakefield’s letter from Sydney. Burden or benefit? The legacies of benevolence. (pp. 49-60) edited by H. Gilbert and C. Tiffin. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
O'Connell, Lisa M. (2006). Gretna Green Novels. Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature. (pp. 477-481) edited by David Scott Kastan. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
Authorship and libertine celebrity: Harriette Wilson’s regency memoirs
O'Connell, Lisa (2004). Authorship and libertine celebrity: Harriette Wilson’s regency memoirs. Libertine enlightenment: Sex, liberty and licence in the eighteenth century. (pp. 161-181) edited by P. Cryle. London: Palgrave. doi: 10.1057/9780230522817
O'Connell, Lisa M. (2004). Gender, Sexuality and the Family: Women's Writing, Language and Readership in The Lady's Magazine, 1770-1832. Defining gender, 1450-1910 : five centuries of advice literature online. (pp. Online-Online) edited by Sara Mendelson, Claire Walsh, Jeremy Black and Erika Rappaport. Online: Adam Matthew Publications.
Matrimonial Ceremonies Displayed: Popular Ethnography and Enlightened Imperialism
O'Connell, Lisa (2003). Matrimonial Ceremonies Displayed: Popular Ethnography and Enlightened Imperialism. Exoticism and the Culture of Exploration. (pp. 98-116) edited by Robert Maccubbin and Christa Knellwolf. Durham: Duke University Press.
Sex, liberty and licence in the eighteenth century
Cryle, P. M. and O'Connell, L. M. (2003). Sex, liberty and licence in the eighteenth century. Libertine Enlightenment: Sex, Liberty and Licence in the Eighteenth Century. (pp. 1-14) edited by Peter Cryle and Lisa O'Connell. Basingstoke, England ; New York: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230522817
Scotland 1800: A Tourist's Matrimonial Guide
O'Connell, L. M. (2002). Scotland 1800: A Tourist's Matrimonial Guide. In Transit: Travel, Text, Empire. (pp. 21-44) edited by H Gilbert and A Johnston. New York: Peter Lang.
Spaces of enlightenment: from domestic scenes to global visions
Denney, Peter and O'Connell, Lisa (2021). Spaces of enlightenment: from domestic scenes to global visions. Eighteenth-Century Life, 45 (3), 1-15. doi: 10.1215/00982601-9272978
Before Frankenstein: Therese Huber and the antipodean emergence of political fiction
O'Connell, Lisa (2020). Before Frankenstein: Therese Huber and the antipodean emergence of political fiction. Postcolonial Studies, 23 (3), 348-359. doi: 10.1080/13688790.2020.1802113
O'Connell, Lisa and Wawrzinek, Jennifer (2020). Catalysts of change: colonial transformations of Anglo-European literary culture in the long eighteenth century. Postcolonial Studies, 23 (3), 257-267. doi: 10.1080/13688790.2020.1809068
Mansfield Park and political theology
During, Simon and O’Connell, Lisa (2018). Mansfield Park and political theology. Political Theology, 19 (7), 1-6. doi: 10.1080/1462317X.2018.1513201
'Mum budget': Henry Fielding and the articulations of audibility
O'Connell, Lisa (2017). 'Mum budget': Henry Fielding and the articulations of audibility. Republics of Letters, 5 (2).
During, Simon and O'Connell, Lisa (2017). Coleridge and the lay sermon. English Studies, 98 (7), 747-757. doi: 10.1080/0013838X.2017.1339992
Literary sentimentalism and post-secular virtue
O'Connell, Lisa (2017). Literary sentimentalism and post-secular virtue. Eighteenth-Century Life, 41 (2), 28-42. doi: 10.1215/00982601-3841348
Sir Charles Grandison, natural law and the fictionalisation of the 18th-Century English gentleman
O'Connell, Lisa (2012). Sir Charles Grandison, natural law and the fictionalisation of the 18th-Century English gentleman. Intellectual History Review, 23 (3), 1-15. doi: 10.1080/17496977.2012.723339
Vicars and squires: religion and the rise of the English marriage plot
O'Connell, Lisa (2011). Vicars and squires: religion and the rise of the English marriage plot. The Eighteenth-Century: Theory and Interpretation, 52 (3-4), 383-402. doi: 10.1353/ecy.2011.0022
'By ordinance of nature': Marriage, religion, and the modern English state
O'Connell, Lisa (2011). 'By ordinance of nature': Marriage, religion, and the modern English state. Parergon, 28 (2), 149-166. doi: 10.1353/pgn.2011.0101
The Theo-political origins of the English marriage plot
O'Connell, Lisa (2010). The Theo-political origins of the English marriage plot. Novel: A Forum on Fiction, 43 (1), 31-37. doi: 10.1215/00295132-2009-059
Sentimental Figures of Empire in Eighteenth-Century Britain and France
O'Connell, L (2009). Sentimental Figures of Empire in Eighteenth-Century Britain and France. Eighteenth-Century Fiction, 22 (2), 379-381. doi: 10.1353/ecf.0.0120
O'Connell, Lisa M. (2006). The Character effect. Novel: A Forum on Fiction, 39 (3), 443-446.
Incest, sexuality, and modernity: Incest and the English novel
O'Connell, Lisa M. (2005). Incest, sexuality, and modernity: Incest and the English novel. Novel: A Forum on Fiction, 8 (2/3), 298-301.
"Matrimonial Ceremonies Displayed": Popular Ethnography and Enlightened Imperialism
O'Connell, Lisa (2002). "Matrimonial Ceremonies Displayed": Popular Ethnography and Enlightened Imperialism. Eighteenth-Century Life, 26 (3), 98-116. doi: 10.1215/00982601-26-3-98
Dislocating Literature: The Novel and the Gretna Green Romance, 1770-1850
O'Connell, L. M. (2001). Dislocating Literature: The Novel and the Gretna Green Romance, 1770-1850. Novel: A Forum on Fiction, 35 (1), 5-23. doi: 10.2307/1346041
Review Essay on Andrew Elfenbein's Romantic Genius
O'Connell, L. M. (2001). Review Essay on Andrew Elfenbein's Romantic Genius. AUMLA, 95 (May), 118-119.
Marriage Acts: Stages in the Transformation of Modern Nuptial Culture
O'Connell, Lisa Marie (1999). Marriage Acts: Stages in the Transformation of Modern Nuptial Culture. Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, 11 (1), 68-111.
Ethnographical humanism and the English marriage plot
O'Connell, Lisa (2010). Ethnographical humanism and the English marriage plot. Thinking the Human in the Era of Enlightenment, Canberra, Australia, 7-9 July 2010. Canberra, Australia: Australian National University.
Secularization and British Literature, 1600-1800
(2013–2015) ARC Discovery Projects
The Cultural Impact of Irregular Marriage in the Age of British Colonialism, 1660-c.1860.
(2003–2005) ARC Discovery Projects
Benevolence and Thomas Pringle: pilot study for a larger programme on benevolence and empire
(2002) University of Queensland Research Development Grants Scheme
(2001–2003) UQ Early Career Researcher
(2000–2001) UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
Feminist Affect - Reading for Love, Knowledge and Transcendence
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
(2024) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
(2016) Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor
The Virtue of Gentlemanly Aggression in Tom Jones
(2013) Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Infamous imaginings: The novels of Lady Caroline Lamb
(2004) Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Flyaway: Visual Evocation of the Beautiful Sublime in Australian Gothic Fiction
(2019) Master Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
(2012) Master Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Liminal Dissonance and Doublings: The Fiction of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Helen Oyeyemi
(2012) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors: