Sasha Roberts

1966-2006

As you probably already know the life of Sasha Roberts was tragically cut short in a car accident on 7 September 2006. She was driving to work full of excitement to move into her new office at the University of Kent at Canterbury. According to the police she died instantly after being struck from behind on the M2 motorway by a lorry from Belgium. The police have also suggested that the driver had not taken his requisite breaks and had been scheduled by his company to drive longer distances than would have been legally possible; their theory is that he fell asleep at the wheel. He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and is currently in prison.

Our son Lio (who was in the car with her) is recovering from a brain and leg injuries sustained in the accident at Chailey Clinical Services, East Sussex. He is receiving excellent care and making tremendous progress; but the road ahead is a long one. He has his own website <www.liospinelli.net> where you can check up on him.

Sasha was a wonderfully humane, intelligent, active and above all optimistic person. Her numerous books and articles attest to incredibly wide-ranging interests: from symbolism in early-modern domestic interiors, Shakespeare’s sonnets, the reception of Shakespeare’s plays from the 17 th Century to the present, and early-modern commonplace books, to William Blake, the theory and history of ‘beauty’ and ‘recreational mysogyny’ (her own coinage). But she was more than just a scholar: she was passionate about salsa dancing; she loved to travel (and is as well-known in Val Belluno, Italy, as she was where we lived in Lewes, U.K.); she had written three children’s books; and a better wife and mother could not have been found.

I and all of Sasha’s family are committed to keeping the memory of her remarkable life alive. To that end we have set up The Sasha Roberts Scholarship Fund. An annual scholarship will be awarded to a student in the School of English at the University of Kent. It is our intension that this scholarship will be awarded in perpetuity drawing from the interest on the original endowment.

Your contributions would be extremely welcome (in any form) to:

TheUniKent--Sasha Roberts Scholarship Fund
18 Rectory Road Barnes
London SW13 ODT U.K.

Several other commemorative projects are also in the works. If you have any ideas for commemorations or for how to raise money for the scholarship fund please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thanks for your time,
Martin Spinelli