Violet Moller is an independent historian with a particular interest in the history of ideas and how knowledge has been transmitted through the centuries. My Ph. D was on libraries in Early Modern Britain, focusing on the organisation and collection of intellectual knowledge, which led me to look at the history of science in a wider context and resulted in The Map of Knowledge, published in February 2019. In 2016 it was awarded the RSL Jerwood Prize for Non-fiction (for a work in progress).
I started my career as a journalist, contributing articles and reviews to The Face, Arena, The Scotsman, Metro Scotland and The List amongst others, covering theatre, art, books, going out, music and culture in general. I lived in Denmark for six years where I worked as an editor and translator, in addition to various branding/research projects. On moving back to the UK, I joined the Bodleian Library as a volunteer – this resulted in being commissioned to write three small books for the Publishing Department. I graduated with MA in Classics and Medieval History and Ph. D in History from the University of Edinburgh. I live in North Buckinghamshire with my husband and our three children.
Books in order of publication:
The Curious World of Dickens – 2014
Oxford in Quotations – 2014
Bodleianalia: Curious Facts about Britain’s Oldest University Library – 2017
The Map of Knowledge: How Classical Ideas Were Lost and Found: A History in Seven Cities – 2019
Inside the Stargazer’s Palace: The Transformation of Science in 16th-Century Northern Europe – 2024
Oak Lawn Library Friends 