I’m very pleased to have been asked to give a fundraising speech for an inspirational new charity, Spark Inside: http://www.sparkinside.org The talk will be on Dickens and Prisons and will take place on 3 November. More information to follow.
Off to the Wisbech Festival today to talk about The Mystery of Princess Louise. http://wisbechartsfestival.org.uk/talks/talk-the-mystery-of-princess-louise/
Come along to the Wisbech Arts Festival next week. I’ll be speaking about Princess Louise’s friendship with Octavia Hill at 2pm on Thurs 15 May. Follow the link and the eagle-eyed amongst you will notice they have spelt my name incorrectly… http://wisbechartsfestival.org.uk/talks/talk-the-mystery-of-princess-louise/
Tickets are now available from The Ruskin Society for my talk on 12 May on Ruskin, Dickens & the Pre-Raphaelites. It’s at 7pm at the Artworkers’ Guild in Queen Square, London. http://www.theruskinsociety.com/Events/2014-05-12_Flyer.pdf
I was thrilled to be asked to deliver the inaugural lecture for Chwarae Teg at Cardiff University this week, here are some pictures of what was a great evening: http://www.flickr.com/photos/65772356@N06/sets/72157642335439763/ Thank you to Chwarae Teg and GRO Cardiff for inviting me and to the audience for being so enthusiastic.
My biography of the sculptor Princess Louise is “Book of the Month” in the latest edition of Majesty magazine. It is described as: “Spirited and lively, The Mystery of Princess Louise is richly packed with arguments, intrigues, scandals and secrets, and is a vivid portrait of a princess desperate to escape her inheritance”.
Princess Louise merits eight pages in the latest edition of Royalty magazine! Jonathan Taylor’s great review ends with the words: “With royal biography the reviewer’s task can sometimes be a disappointing one, faced with little more than the updated retelling or, worse still, hagiography. The Mystery of Princess Louise stands out as a bold and … Read more
My talk about the language and images of propaganda in the First World War (delivered for the British Council and the English Speaking Union) is available to watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWPq8bgezt22yCpewJYizVHmjbOS46MpC?é essays to buy
Rachel Crossley in The Observer writes of my biography of Princess Louise: “I was … far too caught up with this improbable princess, a beautiful, charming woman who loved to bicycle and to smoke, who was always happy to share her recipe for oyster path and who holidayed, at the end of her life, in … Read more