Handley's research studies early modern social and cultural history in the British Isles, with a particular focus on healthcare and sleep, supernatural beliefs, emotions, and material culture.[2] In 2016, Handley published Sleep in Early Modern England (Yale University Press), a book documenting social practices and medical research into sleep in early modern England.[3] The book was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize in 2017, with the judges describing it as a "... book of sheer originality and novelty" that tackled a subject previously neglected in research.[4] It was also shortlisted for the Longman-History Today Book Prize in 2017.[5] In 2018, the book won the inaugural Social History Prize awarded by the Social History Society.[6] Other research by Handley has addressed histories of the supernatural in Europe and England.[7]
Handley has also collaborated with the National Trust to engage the public with research on the history of sleep, including guiding tours at Ham House, a 17th-century historical preserved home, to teach visitors about historical sleep habits and practices, and is collaborating on a similar project at Little Moreton Hall.[1][8][9] As a visiting fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Handley has also worked on the cataloging of early modern objects such as bedsheets.[10] Handley has also contributed to programming on BBC Radio 4, concerning sheets and sleeping on a podcast titled 'The History of Stuff' and on the history of sleep, for a podcast hosted by Sarah Dunant, titled, 'Sleep: A Third of Human History'.[11][12]
