Melissa Pennell

Research Interests

19th & early 20th century American Literature, American Women Novelists, Mystery & Detective Fiction

Education

• BA: English and Sociology, (), College of William and Mary - Williamsburg, VA
• MA: English, (), Brown University - Providence, RI
  Supporting Area: American Literature, British Literature
• Ph D: English, (), Brown University - Providence, RI
  Supporting Area: American Literature (Colonial to Modern), American Regional Literature, British Literature (Neo-classical to Modern)

Awards and Honors

• Honors Program Faculty Mentor Award (2012) - University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa (National Leadership Honor Society) (2008)
• Faculty Recognition Award (2002) - National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAA)
• English Department Teaching Excellence Award (1998)
• Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta (International English Honor Society) (1998)
• Exemplary Faculty Volunteer (1994) - University of Massachusetts Lowell Office of Community Service

Publications

• Pennell, M.M. (2012) " Justice to Edith Wharton? Early Critical Responses," Cambridge U P pp. 93-102
• Pennell, M.M. (2007) "Masterpieces of American Romantic Literature," China Renmin University Press
• Pennell, M.M. (2006) "The Scarlet Letter," Charles Scribner's Sons pp. 1028-1036
• Pennell, M.M. (2004) "Review of "Monuments and Memory: History and Representation in Lowell, Massachusetts" (review)," Biography 26:4 pp. 760-762
• Pennell, M.M. (2003) "New England Life," The Women's Review of Books pp. 25-26
• Pennell, M.M. (2003) "Student Companion to Edith Wharton," Greenwood Press
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "Alice Brown," Oxford U P
• Goldman-Price, I.C., Pennell, M.M. (1999) "American Literary Mentors," U Press Florida
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "Herbert Dickinson Ward," Oxford U P
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "James Oppenheim," Oxford U P
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "Louis A. Godey," Oxford U P
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "Phoebe Atwood Taylor," Oxford U P
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "Sophia Hawthorne," Oxford U P
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "Student Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne," Greenwood Press
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "The Mentor's Charge," U Press Florida pp. 34-46
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "The Unfortunate Fall: Women and Genteel Poverty in the Fiction of Hawthorne and Freeman," UMass Press pp. 191-203
• Pennell, M.M. (1999) "Thorne Smith," Oxford U P
• Pennell, M.M. (1997) "Lowell Mill Girls," Salem Press
• Pennell, M.M. (1997) "The Cult of True Womanhood," Salem Press
• Pennell, M.M. (1997) "Upton Sinclair," M.E. Sharpe pp. 705-709
• Pennell, M.M. (1995) " Review of The Uncollected Short Stories of Mary Wilkins Freeman," American Literary Realism pp. 92-93
• Pennell, M.M. (1994) "Through the Golden Gate: Madness and the Persephone Myth in Gertrude Atherton’s ‘The Foghorn’.," U Press Florida pp. 84-98
• Pennell, M.M. (1991) " The Liberating Will: Freedom of Choice in the Fiction of Mary Wilkins Freeman," G. K. Hall pp. 207-221
• Pennell, M.M. (1990) "A New Spiritual Biography - Domesticity and Sorority in the Fiction of Sarah Orne Jewett," Studies in American Fiction 18:2 pp. 193-206
• Pennell, M.M. (1989) "Charlotte MacLeod," Salem Press pp. 1177-1183
• Pennell, M.M. (1988) "Dark Lady Triumphant: Innovations in American Romance in Charles Fenno Hoffman’s Greyslaer: A Romance of the Mohawk.," Mid-Hudson Language Studies pp. 41-49
• Pennell, M.M. (1987) "From Hell fer Sartain to Kingdom Come: John Fox, Jr.’s Preservation of the Masculine Ethos.," Kentucky Folklore Record: A Regional Journal of Folklore and Folklife pp. 130-136

Presentations

• ,
• The Crime and Detective Fiction of Dennis Lehane, June 2013 - Merrimac, MA
• The Many Lives of Sherlock Holmes, June 2013
• Mystery and Detective Fiction: Traditions and Innovations, August 2012 - Hooksett, NH
• Surveillance and the Dynamics of Power in Edith Wharton's The Old Maid - Edith Wharton in Florence Conference, June 2012
• The History of Mystery and Detective Fiction, March 2012 - Amherst, NH
• Reinventing the Hard-Boiled Tradition, June 2011
• Scandals, Scoundrels, and Spoils: Houses in the Fiction of Henry James with Dr. Marie Frank (Cultural Studies) - Sigma Tau Delta Forum, November 2010
• Cooking Up Crime: Culinary Detective Fiction, October 2010 - N. Chelmsford
• The Mystery Novels of Dennis Lehane, July 2010 - Tewksbury, MA
• The Legacy of Robert B. Parker, June 2010
• Nathaniel Hawthorne: His Life and Fiction, Workshop Leader - Seasonal Ranger Training Sessions, May 2010 - Concord, MA
• The Mystery Novels of Dennis Lehane, March 2010 - Chelmsford, MA
• New England Mystery Novels, June 2009
• Teaching Research and Writing, Session Discussion Leader for Vertical Alignment Workshop, February 2009
• , November 2008 - North Andover, MA
• - NEH Funded Landmarks in American History Series, August 2008 - Concord, MA
• - NEH Funded Landmarks in American History Series, July 2008 - Concord, MA
• Armchair Travel/Armchair Detection, June 2008
• - NEH Funded Landmarks in American History Series, June 2008 - Concord, MA
• The Joys of Being a Life-Long Student, or, Why I Read Literature - Convocation Address, September 2007
• - NEH Funded Landmarks in American History Series, August 2007
• - NEH Funded Landmarks in American History Series, July 2007
• - NEH Funded Landmarks in American History Series, June 2007
• Birds of the Merrimack Valley - Honors Program, Pizza with a Prof Night, September 2006
• - NEH Funded Landmarks in American History Series, August 2006
• Hawthorne, Salem, and the Seven Gables, July 2006 - Salem, MA
• - NEH Funded Landmarks in American History Series, July 2006
• Massachusetts Mysteries, June 2006
• - NEH Funded Landmarks in American History Series, June 2006
• Teaching Hawthorne Using the Hawthorne in Salem Web Site, February 2006
• Crime is a Laughing Matter: Detective Fiction and Humor, July 2005
• - Eminent Women, 2004 - Concord, MA
• To Live by the Clock and the Bell: Lowell's Female Operatives, 1830-1855 - Summer Conversation Series, July 2004 - Concord, MA
• Hawthorne as We See Him: The Evolution of Hawthorne Biography from Henry James to the Present, June 2004 - Minuteman National Park, Concord, MA
• Hawthorne at 200: Teachers' Seminar", panel moderato - Hawthorne Bicentennial Celebration, June 2004 - Concord, MA
• Mysteries and History, June 2004
• Whose House Shall Stand? Walden's 'Economy' in the Context of Women's Advice Literature - American Literature Association Conference, May 2004 - San Francisco, CA
• Subverting the Subversive: Hawthorne's Containment of Female Character - Hawthorne and the Woman Question, March 2004 - Salem State College
• Student Engagement and Retention, Conversation Dinner, March 2004
• Reasons to Consider Project-Based and Service Learning - Winter Institute, Beyond Lectures, Exams, and Essays: Exploring Project-Based and Service Learning, January 2004
• Lois Larcom, Boardinghouse Keeper, staff development workshop, October 2003 - The Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
• Literature and Reform, workshops - Teaching American History Program, October 2003 - The Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
• Literature and Reform, workshops - Teaching American History Program, August 2003 - The Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
• All the Learned Ladies': Intellectual Women in Emerson's Circle, Co-organizer - Summer Conversation Series, July 2003 - Concord, MA
• Art, Music, Museums and Murder, June 2003
• Edith Wharton and Her World - Literary Society Colloquium Series, April 2003
• Not Just a Poor Little Rich Girl: Edith Wharton and American Fiction - Honors Colloquium, November 2002
• Not Just a Poor Little Rich Girl: Edith Wharton and American Fiction, October 2002
• New Directions in Mystery Fiction, June 2002
• Social Capital and The Problem of Benevolence in Howells's Annie Kilburn - American Literature Association Conference, May 2002 - Long Beach, CA
• Mentors and Friends of Louisa May Alcott, April 2002 - Concord, MA
• Overview of her course "The Family in American Literature" and how it meets Gen Ed diversity requirements - Faculty Winter Institute, January 2002
• Meet Lois Larcom, A Boardinghouse Keeper in Lowell, a living history presentation and discussion - Honors Colloquium, November 2001
• Elizabeth Peabody and Early Childhood Education - Life is My College Summer Series, July 2001 - Concord, MA
• Friendship as a Source of Social Transformation in Louisa May Alcott's Fiction - Summer Series, July 2001 - Concord, MA
• Edith Wharton's Life and Writings, June 2001
• Mill Girl Lecture, workshop for teachers with Sheila Kirschbaum - Primary Source, May 2001 - The Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
• Edith Wharton and 'Roman Fever', April 2001 - Salem, MA
• Constructing and Using the NEH Hawthorne Web Site - NEMLA Conference, March 2001 - Hartford, CT
• Helen Hunt Jackson and Indian Rights" in the session "Mightier than the Sword: American Women Writers as Activists - Lowell Women's History Conference, November 2000
• Literary Responses to the Industrial Revolution, lecture and discussion - Honors Colloquium, September 2000
• To bring her face to face with her people: Woman, Ownership, and Power in Wharton's Fruit of the Tree - Edith Wharton Society Conference, June 2000 - Newport
• Language and Gender Issues, panelist at a conversation dinner - Council on Diversity and Pluralism, April 2000
• Duty's Child Revisited: Young Women in the Early Fiction of Sarah Orne Jewett - NEMLA Conference, April 2000 - Buffalo, NY
• The Task Force For Quality Advisint: A Communication Network That Work with Sheila Riley-Callahan and Kim Vitchkosk - NACADA Regional Conference, March 2000 - Portland
• "Language and Gender-Coded Stereotypes", Panelist - UMass Lowell Symposium on Diversity and Pluralism, March 2000
• What's a Mother to Do? 19th Century Advice Literature and American Fiction, March 2000
• , June 1999
• Responses to the Industrial Revolution, workshop for middle school teachers, February 1999 - The Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
• Keeper of the House, Workshop Session - Lowell Women's History Conference, November 1998
• Two workshops for teachers as part of a DOE Summer Institute - The American Industrial Revolution, July 1998 - The Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
• What are We Doing? Where are We Going?: The Future of the English Major - NEMLA Conference, April 1998 - Baltimore
• Four New England Poets, January 1998
• Staff Development Workshop - Women's Captivity Narratives, January 1998
• Staff Development Workshop - Anne Bradstreet: Windows into a 17th century Woman's Life, November 1997
• Workshop for Teachers - Literary Responses to the Industrial Revolution: Using Primary Sources, November 1997 - The Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
• Redefining Space and Reclaiming the Self in Alice Brown's 'Joint Owners in Spain' - New England Voices Conference, October 1997
• , September 1997 - Haverhill, MA
• , April 1997 - North Reading, MA
• Beyond Concord: Literary Influences and Inspirations for Louisa May Alcott, March 1997 - Concord, MA
• Moderator for Lecture Series - Women Writers: Sources of Inspiration, March 1997
• The Sonnet: Traditional and Modern, January 1997
• New England Diarists, July 1996
• Women in Mystery Fiction, May 1996 - Salem, MA
• Berneice Bobs her Hair (Fitzgerald) and The Music Room (Updike), April 1996 - North Reading, MA
• - Nantucket Public Library, March 1996
• - North Andover Public Library, March 1996 - North Andover, MA
• Dorothy Sayers' The Nine Tailors, February 1996 - North Andover, MA
• New England Poets Past and Present, Part II: Frost to Kenyon, January 1996
• Workshop for Teachers with Dr. Mary Kramer - Literary Responses to the Industrial Revolution, October 1995 - The Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
• 'A Net Flung Wide': Mother Voices in Paule Marshall's Brown Girl, Brownstones - Women Writers of Color Conference, October 1995 - Ocean City, MD
• Being Boys and Girls: American Childhood in Little Women and Tom Sawyer, July 1995 - Concord
• New England Poets Past and Present, Part I: Bradstreet to Dickinson, June 1995
• American Literature in the Era of Moby Dick - Literary Society, April 1995
• Workshop for Teachers - Work and the American Identity, April 1995 - The Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
• Mythic Transformations in Joyce Carol Oates' Black Water - NEMLA Conference, March 1995 - Boston, MA
• Talk with Dr. Alice Walters - Women in Detective Fiction, March 1995 - Lowell, MA
• University's "Guest Teacher" program at area high schools, 1994
• The Fiction of Margaret Atwood - Literary Society, October 1994
• Living History Program, portrayal of Elizabeth Hoar, October 1994 - Concord, MA
• Workshop on The Graduate School Application Process - Literary Society, September 1994
• American Fiction by Ethnic and Minority Writers, August 1994
• - Fictional Models of Change for Working Women, March 1994
• Myth and the Runaway Female: Lydia Maria Child's Hobomok - NEMLA Conference, March 1994 - Pittsburgh
• Labor Fiction in America, January 1994
• - What Color Was her Parasol?: Women, Work, and Wages in 19th Century New England, January 1994 - Lowell, MA
• University's "Guest Teacher" program at area high schools, 1993
• Discussion on College Writing and other issues in English Education - Literary Society, November 1993
• - Hawthorne's "The Prophetic Pictures", October 1993 - Concord, MA
• Workshop on Preparing for Essay Exams - Literary Society, October 1993
• Best Sellers: Are They Literature?, August 1993
• Faculty Presenter - University's Strategies for Success Program, August 1993
• - Ellen Craft, July 1993 - Concord, MA
• Dressed to Kill: Dress Reform and Women Writers in 19th Century America - Conference on Scholarship on Women in Society, June 1993
• - Mother's Day: From Sacrifice to Sentimentality, May 1993
• "Meaningful Work and Social Reform in the Fiction of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps" - 19th Century Feminist Strategies for Nonviolence Conference, March 1993
• - Dressed to Kill: 19th Century Clothing and Women's Images, March 1993
• From Victim to Victoria: Women in Detective Fiction, January 1993
• Writing Resumes and Cover Letters - English Department Career Day, October 1992
• Taking Essay Exams" and "The Term Paper, October 1992
• Faculty Presenter - Strategies for Success Program, August 1992
• New England in Fiction, July 1992
• - Eminent Women: Private Lives/Public Spheres, May 1992 - Concord, MA
• Age and Authority in the Fiction of Alice Brown - NEMLA Conference, April 1992 - Buffalo, NY
• What do Students Read Today? The PC Debate, February 1992
• The Dead Sea Scrolls and New Discoveries, December 1991 - Nashua, NH
• Faculty Presenter - Orientation, August 1991
• The Life and Work of Mary Wilkins Freeman, August 1991 - Concord, MA
• The Rise of the Novel & Its Development in America, August 1991
• , April 1991
• Artifacts tell tales That Women must Interpret: Revivifying the Past in the Fiction of Alice Brown - Southern American Studies Association Conference, February 1991 - Williamsburg, VA
• Tough Molls and Gumshoes: Hard-boiled Detective Fiction, January 1991
• Mystery Fiction and Judeo-Christian Values, June 1990 - Lowell, MA
• Mystery Fiction and the Christian Tradition, April 1990 - Nashua, NH
• The Power of Women's Narrative in Eudora Welty's Delta Wedding - NEMLA Conference, April 1990 - Toronto
• The Gospel of Matthew and Typology and The Gospel of Matthew and Greco-Roman Literature, April 1990 - Nashua, NH
• Beyond the Plantation: Constructing Images of the Black Community in the Fiction of Ruth McEnery Stuart - American Studies Association Conference, November 1989 - Toronto, Ontario
• Meditative Poetry, September 1989 - Nashua, NH
• Entering the Underworld: Madness and Power in Gertrude Atherton's 'The Foghorn' - NEMLA Conference, March 1989 - Wilmington, DE
• Is Turnabout Fair Play? Gender, Language and Social Norms in Thorne Smith's Novel of Manners - Twentieth Century Literature Conference, February 1989 - Louisville, KY
• Redefining the Elect: De-centering the Ministry in the Fiction of Harriet Beecher Stowe - Mid-Hudson MLA Conference, November 1988 - Poughkeepsie, NY
• The City and the Shore: New England's Popular Culture in the Detective Fiction of Charlotte MacLeod - New England Popular Culture Association Conference, November 1988 - Hartford, CT
• A New Spiritual Biography Domesticity and Sorority in Jewett's 'Miss Tempy's Watchers' and 'The Passing of Sister Barsett' - NEMLA Conference, March 1988 - Providence, RI
• "Dark Lady Triumphant: Innovations in American Romance in Charles Fenno Hoffman's Greyslaer" - Mid-Hudson MLA Conference, November 1987 - Poughkeepsie, NY
• Rest ye Merry: The Christmas Motif in Mystery and Detective Fiction, November 1987 - Portland, ME
• - Resume Writing Workshop, October 1987
• From Hell fer Sartain to Kingdom Come: John Fox Jr.'s Preservation of the Masculine Ethos, March 1987 - Montreal
• Clarissa in America: Preliminary Findings - Seminar on the History of the Book in American Culture, June 1986 - Worcester, MA
• Mark Twain's Huck Finn - Twain/Huck Finn Centennial, November 1985 - Lowell, MA

Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

• "Inventing America: Lowell And The Industrial Revolution" (2008), - NEH
  Pennell, M. (Other), Montrie, C., Kirschbaum, S.
• "Inventing America: Lowell And The Industrial Revolution" (2007), - NEH
  Pennell, M. (Other), Montrie, C., Kirschbaum, S.
• Cultural Economy Grant for the Urban Village Arts Scene (2007), Grant - UMass President's Office
  Pennell, M. (Other), Szczesiul, A.
• "Inventing America: Lowell And The Industrial Revolution" (2006), - NEH
  Pennell, M. (Other), O'Connell, P., Kirschbaum, S.
• "Inventing America: Lowell And The Industrial Revolution" (2005), - NEH
  Pennell, M. (Other), O'Connell, P., Kirschbaum, S.
• (2000), - NEH
  Pennell, M. (Other), Whitney, T.
• Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities Planning Grant for the Literary Map of Massachusetts (2002), Grant - Massachusetts Center for the Book
  Pennell, M. (Other), Shaloo, S.
• Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities (1998), -
  Pennell, M. (Other)
• A Faculty Development Grant (1994), -
  Pennell, M. (Principal)
• A Task Force on Teaching and Learning Excellence Grant (1994), -
  Pennell, M. (Principal)
• Public Service Endowment Grant (1994), Grant -
  Pennell, M.
• NEH Grant: "Why Concord?" (1993), Grant -
  Pennell, M. (Other)
• Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities (1994), -
  Pennell, M. (Other)
• CITA Grant (1993), -
  Pennell, M. (Principal)
• Seed Money Grant (1985), -
  Pennell, M. (Principal)